2585
by The Archer Black
Summary: Slenderman is not as invincible as he (or anyone else) thought. A blase woman is not as indifferent as she would like to think. But haters are always as hateful as everyone thinks. Anti-hate story, more info inside. This may be an x-over but there is no category for the other part on FF. Rated M for initial violence. Posted in Games because there's no other place for it.
1. Slenderman in the Snow

**2586**

" _Old people told us that here, nearby, there's another, different world." She said finally. "Same as ours. When we look into water, we see our reflection, but the rest is just blurry image of that other world." (…) "Sometimes when we stand in the evening on a waterside, we hear distant bells ringing in the churches of that other world." –_ Andrzej Pilipiuk _"Wieczorne Dzwony"_ _1_ _)_

 **Warning:** Violence and its consequences.

Rating: T to M.

Pairings: none.

Disclaimer: Slenderman © Eric Knudsen (as Victor Surge), 2586 Kroków/Wieczorne Dzwony (and everything it contains) © Andrzej Pilipiuk.

Story and all OCs © Archer Black.

 **Prologue - Slenderman in the Snow.**

oOo

 _Holly Cross Mountains. Early '90s. Winter._

The winter was cold, snow covered everything thickly. A small girl played in the snow, rolling a large ball and then putting it with some effort on even larger one – a snowman in the making. The child stared a third ball while her parents stood near, talking and keeping an eye on their child.

Nearby between trees and leafless bushes on the verge of a forest a lone creature sat hidden, observing the child as she neared in search for the best snow for her ball oblivious to the deadly peril hiding just metres away.

The creature tensed, the girl was getting closer and closer to its hiding spot and out of her parents sight. Just a few more paces and she'd reach the first, now naked shrubs on the border of the forest. The creature unfolded its tentacles and aimed at the child.

"Michelle! Get away from there at once!" The mother hollered. "There may be poachers' traps there!"

The creature froze instantly.

"But MUM!" The girl protested. "The best snow is right here!" She whined but obediently rolled her ball away, heading back to where her unfinished snowman stood.

The creature lowered its tentacles. That was so close but it wasn't anything new, winter wasn't its usual time for hunting, but it didn't mean that it would pass a chance if presented with one. This time however the chance slipped away, oh well, _c'est la vie_ 2) as they say. The creature looked at the girl again – she was now placing the smallest ball on top of the two others.

The snowman was almost done when large, heavy snowflakes started to slowly descend from the sky. The sky seemed to be lighter now, but it only meant that the snowfall would continue.

"Michelle, come, we're going home." The father decided.

"Can I finish my snowman first?" The girls asked. She was now in the process of putting snow in places where the calls connected to stabilise them and also smoothing the surface of the snow.

"No, the snow is getting worse and it's late, time for dinner." The father beckoned on the girl.

"Awww!" The girl whined.

"You can make another one tomorrow." The mother said.

"Promise?" The girl, Michelle, asked.

"Yes, promise. I'll even help you with it." Mother took the girl's hand. "Besides, aren't you cold already?"

"A bit." The girl admitted and indeed, her cheeks and nose were getting red from the cold. "What's for dinner?"

"Tomato soup." The father replied. "With noodles."

"Can we make a cake later?" The girl skipped between her parents as they left.

"Only if you eat your soup first." The mother answered.

The creature observed as the trio walked away. There she went – his dinner walked away to eat her dinner. But there would be other opportunities – the creature was no stranger to hunger. Just as it was about to leave its hiding place the girl turned back to give the abandoned snowman last glance. The creature saw her golden-green eyes finding the lump of snow and resting on its hiding spot, for a second it seemed as if the girl stared directly into its featureless face but luckily she didn't notice its presence. The last thing it needed was to be spotted, even by a child.

oOo

 _Holly Cross Mountains. Present day. Winter, January 2_ _nd_ _._

A dark red Fiat Doblò 3) drove smoothly between snowy fields in the darkness of what passed as afternoon at this time of a year. Its lights shone brightly illuminating slowly falling snow flakes in front of it.

Michelle watched the snow with grim face. The day started nice when she left her parents' place in Warsaw, the sky wasn't exactly spotless but it was sunny and last two weeks were extremely frosty and thus snowless thanks to the dry Siberian air. The weathercast forewarned that this state wouldn't last and that there would be heavy storms rolling over the country which made her change her plans and shorten her holiday stay at her parents' place to avoid driving in dangerous conditions. The weathercast claimed that the storms would arrive late at night or in the early morning the next day.

Her mother wasn't thrilled about the idea but Michelle knew that if the old house inherited from her grandmother was to remain habitable someone had to be there and keep it warm and dry in the winter. It wasn't long before she regretted not staying at least until the worse snow storms passed through and the weather stabilised.

Most of the trip went smoothly, the weather started to change pretty quickly, at first it was just clouds that covered the sky, but they were getting lower and lower and looked more and more heavy. At that point she already knew that the snow fall would start earlier that the weathercast anticipated.

The first, heavy snowflakes fell slowly from the steadily rolling clouds shortly before she reached the last city on her way and started to turn into actual snow storm just after she passed it. Before she reached the last small town the weather improved slightly, the storm ended and the snowfall was lessening.

Now the conditions improved with snow becoming pretty light and Michelle wanted to reach home before it would deteriorate again. It was going well so far but soon she would turn into small, local road that wasn't important or frequented enough to be cleared by snow ploughs, at least not until all the other, larger roads were dealt with.

Michelle reached her turn-off easily and instantly knew it would only get harder from now on. Not only the road wasn't cleared off which wasn't a surprise, the snow ploughs left sizable deposit of snow blocking her turn – she had to push her way through it.

Right behind the bend she saw first houses of the last village on her way before reaching her destination. Despite the darkness it was still pretty early so the warm lights shone in the windows. Michelle wished she was home already but then she remembered that it would be cold there – no one to keep it warm while she was away. The street lamps casted yellow light, making the snow glisten slightly, the road was straight here so she decided to speed up a bit but instantly slowed when she felt her car's rear 'dancing' on the slippery surface of the snow covered road. That wasn't such a good idea after all – even with slightly higher speed she wouldn't hurt herself but she wasn't too happy about the perspective of landing in a ditch and having to drag her luggage to her home on foot in these conditions.

She passed the village in slower pace than she would like but without any incidents and soon her only source of light became her headlights. Just as she left the last house behind her a wood came to her view, tall pined growing on both sides of the road.

She knew that wood, it was small part of larger forest that reached to the road, the strip of trees ended just before the last bend, from there it would be straight road all the way to her destination. She could spot an old dirt road leading deeper into the forest – it cut straight through the forest and let to fields, some people still used it during harvest time. There was a small, wooden shrine of the Holy Mary4) hanging on one of the trees near the road. It was so old that the decaying wood barely held its original shape and the paint was long gone. She could see it now and she smiled recalling an old, local legend5) about that shrine when she spotted something laying in the snow in the now naked bushes, just between the trees next to where the dirt road was.

She stopped to take a better look but she couldn't see well, it was too dark. The only true source of light were her headlights. She turned and aimed at where she knew the old dirt road was hidden under the snow and drove between the trees. Some gentle manoeuvring allowed her to aim her headlight closer to the shape.

At first she suspected that the shape could be a boar, they were seen in these woods, but as her headlights shone near the laying shape she saw that it was neither a boar nor any other wild or domesticated animal, it definitely looked like a human. She glared at the body in the snow and wondered how they could end up in there. Certainly not hot by a car, they were too far from the road and there were no marks at the side of the road, the snow there was impeccable. The body wasn't covered in snow so whatever happened here it was after the snow storm. Maybe it was robbery? Someone robbed this poor person and dragged them there, and she didn't paid attention to how the snow on the dirt road looked like, too focused on manoeuvring her car.

Whatever the case was, she had to check if that person was alive or not and call for ambulance or police, or both. She got out of the car and gasped. Inside was relatively warm but outside the frosty air pushed her breath back to her lungs. The snow reached to her mid shins and in some places it would probably reached her knees but fortunately she had knee boots. She awkwardly walked to the shape and saw that the person wore a thin looking business suit. So it was a he then. And probably dead one too, it wouldn't take long to freeze to death in such cold wearing nothing but thin suit.

When she got near the fallen man she saw blood stains on the snow around him, if that was his blood he was also wounded. He was lying on his belly, she knew she shouldn't do that, but she had no other way of checking if he was alive in these conditions, she gently rolled the man to his back and instantly jumped back, tripped and landed on her rear.

The man had no face! And not because it was missing. In place of where his face should be, there was a blank skin. There were indentations where eye sockets were, small bump where the nose should be but otherwise there was nothing. No hair, no eyebrows, no mouth. Even ears were but small bumps.

Her first thought was that it was a store mannequin that someone threw away, but then there was the blood on the snow, it could be fake blood, but the "mannequin" was bleeding it. So it had to be a costume. Perhaps this man participated in a masquerade that went wrong?

Michelle picked herself up, reached to see if she could take the mask off and jumped back again, landing in the same place as before.

"What the truck!" She whispered in awe. That was no mask.

She gathered herself from the snow covered ground once more and shook the snow off. This wasn't happening. This was absurd. This wasn't possible. She paced from her car to the fallen 'man' and again. Was this some sort of a prank? She looked around. It wasn't a prank. That wasn't a good place for pranks, not at this time of year, not at this hour and not in this weather.

"But this is impossible." She stood above the faceless man. "Slenderman doesn't exist. He's just some modern version of bogey man to scare naughty brats with." She exclaimed to the universe as a whole. The universe didn't reply.

She kneeled next to the creature again. Maybe it was mask after all and she just missed its rim? She reached again and checked the neck of the man, there was no rim. And it was not a mask of any kind: when she moved the creature's head she saw that it was skin, there was a cut just above its eye ridge, the bleeding stopped due to low temperature but it was there. And there was a boot print on the side of its head too.

Wait! What?

Someone tried to stomp this creature's head into the ground… or in this case, snow? Michelle blinked and shook her head. This wasn't possible. Wasn't Slenderman supposed to be immensely powerful? Powerful enough to be able to handle any kind of an attacker?

Michelle growled under her nose. Why was she even considering these things? Slenderman wasn't real.

But when she looked down she saw a being lying at her feet, remaining irritably real and alive if the slight rising if its chest wasn't just her eyes playing tricks on her.

"Damn it all." Michelle swore and forced herself not to sigh; it would only end with coughing fit. What should she do?

One thing was sure; she couldn't just call the ambulance or the police. What would she tell them if she did? 'Come quickly I have unconscious Slenderman here and I think someone assaulted him'? They not only wouldn't believe her, they would think she was some prank caller.

She couldn't leave this being here either… could she? She stared at the creature for a moment. This was pure absurd. Slenderman was supposed to be creepy and powerful not at low ebb and in need of help.

She looked around, she had to hurry up with making up her mind; the snow was increasing. Her car's headlights were revealing that the snow was falling more and more dense. Her eyes fell on the old, decaying shrine, what was left of the wooden Mary stared back. Michelle pulled an annoyed face.

"Oh fine!" She growled. It wasn't that she was overly religious. In fact she wasn't religious at all, closer to spiritual if anything. But bigotry was one thing and having basic morals was another. Michelle wanted to be able to look herself in the mirror and not be ashamed of who she was.

She returned to her car and opened the boot. In winter she always had a thick blanket there just in case. It took her a moment to dig it out from underneath her luggage, but it wasn't too difficult, she only had two bags. The blanket itself was old, grey and ugly but it was insanely warm. If anything happened it would be a life saver and today it might be just that.

She unfolded the blanket and placed it in the backseat and opened both doors. The inside of the car would get cold instantly but that was the best way to do it.

Michelle wasn't sure if she wouldn't cause more damage to the creature but she had no other option, she kneeled at Slender's head and as gently as she could picked the entity up. He was surprisingly heavy for someone or something as thin as he was, but she supposed he wasn't made of just skin and bones. The only way she could get him to her car was to hook her arms under his arms and drag him, but if it could get him where she wanted then it would have to do.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." She murmured as she tried to get into the back seat of her car backwards. It took some effort and the fact that her car was tall and had a large door did make it so much easier. Once inside she manoeuvred the Slenderman so he would sit on the blanket, his head rolled back but the creature made no noise. Fortunately she didn't have to handle any tentacles, if she recalled correctly the creature had them but it seemed that they were only deployed at will and not by default. She reached and pulled his legs in grateful again that her car was as large as it was.

"Thank the Common Sense I didn't chose a Mini.6)" She said crawling out through the other door. "Or the 5007)." She closed the door and ran around the car. On the other side she dove back in, wrapped the blanket around the unconscious entity, buckled the safety belt, checked if everything was right and slid the door close.

She looked around and didn't like what she saw – the snow storm would make its grand comeback soon. She jumped inside and started to carefully pull back, it wasn't easy in these conditions but absolute lack of other cars worked in her favour.

It wasn't that far to her destination from there but she had to drive past the sharp turn first. She was forced to slow down and drive at snail's pace, she was certain that she would make it faster on her own feet and dragging her unexpected passenger along with her. Driving like this was almost painful. It felt like forever but finally Michelle cleared the turn and found herself on the last straight line where she could drive relatively faster.

Should it be day Michelle could spot the first houses from where she was, but it was dark and most of the houses in the village her house was in were empty at this time of year so all she could see was the snow in her headlights and feeble shine of the streetlights. Her own house was in the middle of the village, but her nearest neighbours lived three empty houses away, and they were off anyway. At this time of year it was basically a ghost village, for forty-something houses only 14 were constantly inhabited, 3 of which emptied for the holidays.

The only people that stayed for the cold season were the ones that had any farm animals they had to tend to. The others that stayed were the ones with old houses that needed to be kept dry and warm through the winter, but they could leave for the holidays. The rest usually moved out to live with their families during the winter or only visited during summer holidays. One person rented their house for vacationists and another sold their house, some people from Cracow demolished the old house and wanted to build themselves some luxurious 'mansion'.

The village looked spooky, empty houses illuminated by weak, yellow light of the street lamps seemed eerie. Michelle was accustomed to it by now. She stopped in front of her gate and gave it critical look. The snow accumulated around it and she knew it would give her some workout to push it open. Normally she kept it cleared to be able to open it without problems.

She got out of the car and pulled out the key to the padlock that kept the gate closed. It was there mostly to make sure that the wind wouldn't damage it by breaking it loose than to keep anyone out. There was a small problem with the padlock but after short struggle it opened, Michelle made a mental note to fix it with some WD-40 the next morning. Then she pushed each half open, it did require a bit of effort but it went easier than she thought it would. The snow was still fresh and loose.

She drove the car into the yard, closed the gate and locked it with the padlock. She was practically home… well almost, there were still things to do and she had a 'guest' that she needed to take care of.

The first thing she did was to leave the Slenderman inside the car – at the moment it was the warmest place around anyway – and ran to the house. Her first stop was the boiler room to start up the heating system but it would take some time for the water to warm up so the next thing she did was to go to the kitchen and start a fire in an old masonry stove. It would take some time too and it would only heat up the kitchen/living room area but it would bring results faster than the boiler.

Before the fire could start up properly she already put two pots of water on the stove and left for what usually served as her room for her desk chair, she dragged it to the hall and went out to get the Slenderman.

Getting the tall creature into the house was a challenge but Michelle managed with use of her desk chair. Once she deposited the still unconscious Slenderman on the sofa in the living room area, she moved to get her bags, call her mother to tell her that she reached home safely and move the car to the barn that served as a garage.

Having all that done, Michelle checked the water but it needed more time, the fire in the stove burned nicely and the boiler was heating up slowly. The house was still unpleasantly cold, but there was nothing much she could do about it. She took her boots and winter jacket off and brought two plastic basins from the bathroom, some bandages, cotton cloth and pair of latex gloves.

The next thing to do was to strip Slenderman off of his clothes. First he'd be better off the wet and cold clothes and second she needed to see how bad the damage was.

His shoes went off first and Michelle noticed with relief that she didn't need a gas mask to operate near the creature's feet. The shoes landed next to the stove where they would dry nicely. Next were his socks which landed on the floor. Michelle moved up and unwrap the blanket, Slenderman didn't react and she wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad sign.

Taking off the suit's jacket proved to be quite a challenge and it took time. Everything that Slenderman did in response was to inhale deeply and stir slightly but he stayed out. As soon as jacket joined the socks Michelle reached and pulled the belt off the trousers and hung it on the chair. The tie went next, but it landed in top of the jacket.

Upon seeing the shirt Michelle reached and pulled the gloves on – the once impeccably white shirt was stained with blood. Taking it off was just as problematic as the jacket, but it finally went off and Michelle saw that there were more light blue-red bruises on the chest of the creature. Some of them looked like the boot print on its head, other looked like fists, there were few that looked suspiciously as if someone used knuckle dusters. Some of the blows were strong enough to make the skin burst and that's where the blood came. The wounds closed off and the only reason why her efforts to take his shirt off didn't reopened them was because the shirt was wet and didn't stick to the wounds.

Michelle looked at the trousers and sighed, there was no other way around it. She unbuttoned and unzipped the trousers, pulled them down and 'eep-ed'. She wasn't sure how to address the creature before but now all her doubts were gone. Slenderman was definitely a HE.

Michelle winced and pulled the trousers all way down and off his feet. It wasn't that she never saw a naked man before – she was divorced – but she expected Slenderman to wear some sort of underwear. Any sort of underwear. Briefs, boxers, long johns, a bloody loin cloth would do! But no, Slenderman went commando.

She picked corned of the blanket and covered the entity's private area and proceeded with assessing his state. As far as she could tell no limb was broken and the only wounds she could see were the ones where his skin burst from the blows he received, brain concussion was possible but there was no way of checking it at the moment. She gently felt his stomach in search of any signs of internal bleeding but it was soft which was good. The ribcage was bruised which could indicate broken or fractured ribs but the creature was breathing freely so she assumed that no lung was punctured. She should check if he breathed out any blood drops but he didn't have any actual nose.

Michelle, as gently as she could, rolled the creature to the side to take a closer look at his back. As she suspected it was as bruised as the front but it also seemed to have weird slits. She counted eight of them, four on each side of the back. They were too symmetrical to be wounds and they did not bleed though one was swollen and bruised. The woman guessed that it was where the tentacles came from.

"Does that mean he only has eight tentacles, of more than one can get out of it?" She whispered while examining the swollen slit. It looked painful.

By the time Michelle finished examining Slenderman's back the water in both pots started to boil. She poured it to both basins and added some cold water to make it temperate. She torn the cloth in two and put each of the half in basins.

Cleaning off the blood and bandaging wasn't very complicated but when she finally finished the water in one basin was red. It wasn't perfect job but it would have to do for the night. She wrapped Slenderman into the blanket again and went to her room to set the bed.

The second room was absolutely cold, only now she felt the difference the masonry stove made. She turned the radiator's thermostat so the hot water could circulate and proceeded with setting the bed. During winter she usually slept on the couch in the living room area, it was comfy and she could monitor the masonry stove better so her actual bed stood unused. This time it would serve her extraordinary guest.

Once the bed was made she returned to the kitchen and awkwardly moved the Slenderman back to her desk chair. The creature seemed slightly better already because he rolled his head and hissed. Or at least it sounded like hissing. Michelle stopped in her tracks but nothing happened so she proceeded with rolling the chair and its occupant to the room. Slenderman trembled slightly but Michelle paid him no mind: in a moment he'd be tugged under thick duvet, he'd be warm and comfy.

Putting him into the bed was easy, especially that she decided to leave the blanked wrapped around the being, the bed was still cold.

Only then she could finally take care of herself. It wasn't late but she felt very tired and hungry. Unpacking could wait for the next day. All she wanted to do was to eat something, drink some hot tea and go to sleep. When she left the room she almost tripped over Slenderman's discarded clothes and remembered about the basins.

"Oh TRUCK!" She whined.

TBC

 **IMPORTANT NOTE!**

There are few things I want you – dear reader – to be aware of as you will (hopefully) continue to follow this story. They're not necessary for you to enjoy the narration as such, but they help to better understand the purpose of it, and its characters.

So yeah, an OC finding wounded canon character and helping them – I use this plot device intentionally, I know it is a bit of cliché but it serves its purpose in this story perfectly.

Moving to the OC herself. Michelle is my _porte-parole_ which is a fancy word for a character that presents views and beliefs of their author. Because she is my porte-parole I allowed myself to equip her with some physical and psychological traits that runs in women of my family (or at least my mum's side of it) and lives same region as place where I have spent quite a portion of my childhood. But it is important to note that **this is not Self Insert** in any way or form. The place Michelle lives resembles my childhood place so much because it is easier and more natural for me to narrate, that's all.

The story itself is one against hate crimes (be it inspired by politics, religion, race/ethnicity or anything else), prejudice and false assumptions based on stereotypes. These are the things that were taught to us in history class as leading to hate crimes. Moreover, these things still happens.

The story may be viewed as containing some mild romance, but it is not a romance as such. It is also not connected in any way to any of my other stories.

And the most important part: **The Safety Disclaimer:** Slenderman is not real, he's made up! I know he's rad and awesome, but he doesn't hurt people and doesn't make anyone do anything because he's not real! No matter how much some of us wished he was. So no silly ideas and spare me the drama – if someone hurt someone else "for Slender" it means that they're either a delusional idiot or using a fictional character as a poor excuse.

1) Original, Polish quote: _"Starzy ludzie mówili, że tu, obok, jest inny świat - powiedziała wreszcie. - Taki sam jak nasz. Gdy patrzymy w wodę, widzimy swoje odbicie, ale reszta to zamglony obraz tamtego świata .(…) Czasem, gdy staniemy wieczorem na brzegu wody, słyszymy odległe bicie dzwonów w kościołach i cerkwiach tamtego świata"_

The short story "Wieczorne Dzwony" (Evening Bells) comes from Anthology "2586 kroków" (2586 Steps).

The original quote differs from the translation in the fact that Polish language distinguishes Catholic and Orthodox churches (hence – kościół for Catholic Church and cerkiew for Orthodox Church). The title of the story is left in Polish because the story was never fully translated to English language, or at least I am not aware of it.

2) French for "such is life".

3) It's a LAV car, also known is some places as combivan, the choice of that particular model is important for the sake of not making Michelle's life too complicated when she makes crazy choices.

4) As in Holy Virgin.

5) That shrine exists, or existed when I was a kid. There really is local legend about it – a dead man was raised from the dead while he was carried in his coffin to the church for his funeral. The family had the shrine hung by the place where he sat in his own coffin. Of course it was no miracle – he simply wasn't dead in the first place (and the legend is really old one). It was a small miracle that he wasn't buried alive though. Or that he didn't wake up in the church during a mass – that would be super awkward.

6) Mini, the brand of cars, they're only 1,35 metres tall by 1,40 metres wide and 3 to 3,4 metres long (4,43x4,59x9,84-11,15 ft).

7) There are three Fiat 500 models: Fiat 500, 500L and 500X, Michelle naturally means the 500. I was tempted to make her name "Maluch" (Toddler) which is also Fiat model, but most people wouldn't know what it is. To picture why she's thankful let's compare:

Fiat "Maluch" is 1,33 metres tall by 1,37 metres wide by 3,05 metres long (4,36x4,49x10 ft).

Fiat 500 is 1,48 metres tall by 1,62 metres wide by 3,54 metres long (4,85x5,31x11,61 ft);

Fiat Doblò (the five seat after 2004 face lifting model) is 1,81 metres tall by 1,72 metres wide by 4,25 metres long (5,93x5,64x13,94 ft).


	2. Raise and Shine

**2586**

" _Old people told us that here, nearby, there's another, different world." She said finally. "Same as ours. When we look into water, we see our reflection, but the rest is just blurry image of that other world." (…) "Sometimes when we stand in the evening on a waterside, we hear distant bells ringing in the churches of that other world." –_ Andrzej Pilipiuk _"Wieczorne Dzwony."_

 **Warning:** Violence and its consequences.

Rating: T to M.

Pairings: none.

Disclaimer: Slenderman © Eric Knudsen (as Victor Surge), 2586 Kroków/Wieczorne Dzwony (and everything it contains) © Andrzej Pilipiuk.

Story and all OCs © Archer Black.

 **Raise and Shine.**

oOo

 _Holly Cross Mountains. January 3_ _rd_ _._

Slenderman came to slowly, at first he just stirred and moved a little bit. It looked like he had problems with drifting back to reality which wasn't surprising taking that he laid in soft bed wrapped in warm duvet with a fluffy pillow under his head; he certainly was warm and comfortable. However gravity of the wakefulness finally pulled him back to the land of the living and he noticed that he was not in his lair.

Slenderman started to look around. He certainly was in a room, judging by how it was furnished it had to be human room. The walls were painted in soft but medium to dark blue and the ceiling was pale yellow. The window was covered with dark blue curtains. From his position he could not see the floor but he could see that the furniture was made of dark wood or wood-like material. There was a closet at the foot of the bed he laid in; on the wall across from him was a large chest of drawers, book shelf and a writing desk between them. A desk chair stood in front of the writing desk. All was neat but there was an air of slight chaos in the room – there were some things on top of the chest and the desk and they were in disarray. Finally on the same wall as the head of the bed he laid in were a door and a light switch.

The room was dark but judging by the light sipping through the curtains it was day so he chose to end his rest and get up. He made an attempt to sit up but the sharp movement caused him to whine almost inaudibly and fall back. It was his ribs. He reached underneath the covers to check on his chest and visibly stiffened. His ribcage was covered in elastic bandages – someone actually bandaged his maltreated bones. He slowly reached with both hands and gently lifted the duvet to see how bad it looked like but instantly pressed the duvet to his body while glaring at the ceiling. He was naked! He wasn't just bandaged but also stark naked. Someone has undressed him and taken his clothes away. He was naked and in someone's bed!

That seemed to do it and Slenderman rose again, this time slowly and carefully. As he did so he noticed that there was a carpet on the floor – dark blue and matching the curtains. He hissed as his ribs protested against moving but he was determined to get out of the bed and then to find his clothes and leave, reach the safety of his lair. If his benefactor had any self-preservation instincts they would not stand in his way.

Before he managed to sit fully however the door handle moved and the door opened. Slenderman froze. Nothing happened for a moment and then someone entered. Slenderman observed, ready for anything to happen.

It was a woman. Fairly young but certainly not a teenage, she was of the short and rather petite kind with short blonde hair. She didn't look at him at first but the moment she noticed him awake she froze too. He could now see that she had green eyes.

That gave him a moment to determine that this woman would not pose much of a threat. He was about to jump out of the bed, pain and dizziness be damned, but she was faster.

"Oh no! You shouldn't get out of the bed on your own!" She moved closer but stopped seeing him tense. "You may have concussion and cracked ribs. You should absolutely rest for a while, not walk around."

Slenderman didn't move but stayed tense.

"If you need to go... ehem… go to bathroom, I can walk you there. Do you want to?" She offered awkwardly. How one was supposed to ask the Slenderman if he needs to go to loo?

Slenderman glared at her for a moment and then looked down at himself. His meaning pretty obvious.

"Oh, well, yeah… "Michelle rubbed her forehead. Another thing: how to tell Slenderman that you have seen him naked. "I had to take your clothes off, they were wet." She explained. "I have found you yesterday, you were lying face down in the snow."

He calmly looked down at himself again.

"You will get them back when they're dry. I have washed them because they were covered in bloodstains." She gestured to his chest and head. "You were bleeding."

Slenderman touched his head and felt his eye ridge. The skin there was damaged and there was a scab. He started to sit again.

"Hold on for a second, I'll give you some slippers." Michelle rushed to the closet and dove in. She made a decision by bringing him home, and that decision was to tend to him properly.

Finally she produced a pair of carpet slippers. Slenderman 'glared' at them. They were large, soft and dark blue.

He tried to get out of the bed but suddenly his head started to spin. There was the concussion his hostess talked about.

"See?" She was suddenly next to him. "Someone tried to stomp your head into the ground, whoever they may be." She moved the duvet away but left the blanket. "I'll help you to the bathroom if you want to go there."

He didn't protest as she helped him to sit up properly. If he had to wait for his clothes then he might as well accept the hospitality offered and use that bathroom.

"I fully expected you to sleep at least until the evening or maybe even tomorrow morning." She continued to talk as he was slowly getting up. "But you being able to move as well as you do after the kind of beating you've got is good news."

Slenderman staggered a bit again but didn't sit down on the bed and allowed Michelle to slowly lead him to the bathroom.

The moment he left the bedroom he realised that he was in a living room conjoined with a kitchen. It wasn't overly spacious setting but it was practical and well illuminated thanks to two windows. He could see that it was snowing heavily outside; everything seemed to be covered in white. He glanced at a clock hanging above the door his hostess was leading him to and almost stopped in his tracks. It was an early afternoon, but in winter it meant that in mere hours it would start to get dark again. It was almost a day since his misadventure.

Outside the kitchen door Slenderman found himself in a dark hallway. The floor was concrete; this house was clearly undergoing some form of renovation. In the hallway there were four doors. On his right side Slender saw a double door made of what seemed to be solid wood, they looked heavy and old if an ancient looking door handle and lock was anything to come by. A hanger with a winter jacket on it and a pair of winter boots standing underneath indicated that it was the entry. Opposite of the entrance was another door, this one looking like regular room door. And in front of him he saw a pair of doors next to each other. Neither was marked in any way. His hostess led him to the ones on the right, lit up the light and let him in – it was the bathroom.

There was no window there but it was nice and well lit. A toilet, bathtub, washbasin and some cabinets were all that the bathroom was equipped with.

"I take that you will be able to take it from here?" Michelle asked, determined to allow Slenderman to do his toilet business on his own.

Slenderman looked at the toilet, then gave the bathroom a once over, turned to the woman and pointed at the tub.

"Oh? Oh! Are you sure? It could wash out the scabs." She wasn't sure if it was wise for him to take a bath.

Slenderman sighed and winced – Michelle noticed that it was real wince, his featureless face wrinkled in some places – and pointed at the tub again.

"Okay, it's your scabs, but you can't do it in the bandages." She said and lowered the toilet seat completely. "Sit here so I can unwrap them."

Slenderman stared at her for a second, she had a feeling that he would prefer to do it himself but it was obvious that he would have problems with doing it. He then sat silently on the toilet and lowered the blanket from his shoulders.

It wasn't a pretty sight, not because Slenderman looked bad but because of the marks on his skin. They weren't nearly as prominent as they would be on any human, but they were there. The bruises were healing faster than in any human, but were still visible.

"Fair warning, your ribs will hurt more without it." Michelle moved as fast and gentle as she could. "And one of the… umm… slits on your back is swollen."

The bandage was gone revealing the marks. Michelle didn't comment on how it looked, instead she plucked the bathtub and turned the mixer tap on allowing it to fill the tub. Next she opened a random hanging cabinet and produced a dark red set of towels and a matching bathrobe.

"The soap is here." She pointed at a shelf in a tall, standing cabinet just between the toilet bowl and the tub. "I'll leave you now, umm, I'll check on you in an hour." She took the bandage and left.

Slenderman waited for few seconds after his hostess left before he slowly stood up. The tub was slowly filling with steaming water and the bathroom was warm on its own so he discarded the blanket. Only now he really looked at it. The blanket was ugly and grey but it was warm too and it served its purpose well. He folded it and lay on the floor next to the washbasin and lifted the toilet seat.

After he flushed the water he walked to the mirror hanging above the washbasin to take a closer look at his injuries as while the tub was filling. His hairless eyebrow was cut, the scab wasn't large but he noticed a boot print on the side of his head. It seemed that his hostess wasn't joking when she told him that someone stomped on his head. When he looked down he saw that his chest didn't look any better, he was sporting bruises and scabs. He could see more of the boot prints on his ribs; some of the bruises were clearly left by a knuckle duster. There were few odd bruises on his thighs and arms – his attackers focused on his torso. Then he recalled about the tentacle slit that the woman mentioned and reached to his back to try and feel it. It took him few tries before he found it. It was the second left one; he could feel the skin raised around it, the slit itself was sore to the touch.

He looked at the bathtub and saw that it was filled enough. He turned the mixer off, took the liquid soap contained that his hostess showed him and walked into the water, slowly and carefully to avoid getting dizzy again. The water was warm and it lifted some of the aching from his battered body, he leaned back to get covered in it more and hissed silently when the water touched the raw tentacle opening. He would have to be careful with it until it healed a bit.

When his body accustomed to the water's warmth, Slenderman relaxed a bit and released his main tentacles and then his thinner feelers from his back slits. Except for the wounded opening that remained unused. The flexible appendages did not stretch to their full lengths but they slipped from the water and rested on the tub rim. At first they were black but they quickly started to change colour and in a moment they were as white as Slenderman's skin and the tub itself.

Slenderman sighed and looked at the water that turned pale pink. It was remains of the blood that his hostess didn't manage to wipe off when she tended to his wounds. He probably left some of it in the snow in that wood too...

oOo

 _The forest strip. The day before – retrospection._

Slenderman was returning to his old lair after spending weeks away. On any other day it wouldn't be much of an issue – he could teleport and under normal circumstances it wouldn't take him more than half an hour to travel from the great forests of Canada to Carpathian Mountains trough series of 'jumps'. This time circumstances were far from normal though. His ability to teleport was dependent on the weather – he needed to either see where he was 'jumping' to or know exactly the layout of the location. This was naturally purely practical limitations; blind 'jump' could land him inside of a mountain or worse.

This time the weather decided to make his life difficult, the snow storm practically rendered his teleportation powers useless, the visibility was too low for him to make 'jumps' of any decent length. It reduced his options to walking through the wind and snow.

He was almost there, it wouldn't take him long to reach his lair now, perhaps an hour of walking in this abysmal weather. All he had to do was to reach a road that would lead him past one village and a patch of trees, then cross some fields and reach another forest that held his hiding place where he could rest.

The first sign that something was off came when he walked into the village. Heavy snow and darkness hidden his presence from people living there, poor weather kept everyone indoors, no one sane would wander outside without serious need. And yet there was movement in the snow, someone was out there. Slenderman couldn't see who or what it was due to the same snow that hid his presence from humans.

The moment he left the road and reached the wood the weather improved, snow was lessening which could mean that he would be able to teleport the moment he'd be in the clear.

They got him when he was passing by an old dirt road. He never saw it coming distracted by the perspective of getting home faster. The first blow hit him in the back, sent him forward into the snow. He didn't expect them here at this time of year. They avoided coming to this realm during winter.

He counted six of them but there could've been more outside of his field of vision, hidden in the darkness. Those who attacked him were young, tall and well built. They didn't waste time in attacking, all of them at once.

With fleeing not being an option, fighting back was all that Slenderman could do. Should his attackers be humans he wouldn't have any problems, but they were not and on top of that they seemed to be well trained in group attacking single victims.

His first move was to deploy his tentacles. In the open he would just swing his powerful appendages in wide arcs and swipe the attackers off of their feet but with the trees around it wasn't a good idea. Situation called for different tactic. He tried to wrap them around the six assailants, two of them got caught, three ducked, but one grabbed the tentacle delivered a high kick to where it emerged from Slenderman's back.

They were strong on their own, but they also wore heavy boots and that kick was delivered flawlessly. Slenderman's tentacles trembles and withdrew, including the kicked one, the faceless entity gasped in pain. The six attackers didn't waste a second in jumping on him. He tried to increase his size which was yet another trick he could use but one of them managed to head-butt him before he started to grow. He didn't even shake the blow down when another kicked him in the back and then he felt another strike in the head.

They didn't pile up on him, but it was close enough. If he could stand up he would have better chances but they didn't let him get up, the kicks, blows, strikes and slogs rained on him continuously. His natural healing powers kicked in immediately, at first the strikes didn't do him much hurt, in theory he could even attempt to increase his size again and shake the assailants again. But in practice this wasn't an option. Growing consumed energy, energy that he was now spending on his healing powers and he didn't have any in excess. It wasn't that he was starving per se but it was hard to find proper nourishment in this realm and he was malnourished, all thanks to growing industrialisation leading to increasing pollution.

At first he was doing his best to block the hits and trying to throw the six brutes off of himself, but soon enough his strength started to wavering and his healing power withering away. His attackers however seemed to be untiring delivering their kicks and strikes continuously.

Finally Slenderman started to slowly lose consciousness. He wasn't trying to defend himself anymore and didn't pay attention how long it lasted. He didn't even notice where and with what they were hitting him with.

Next thing he knew was that they suddenly have stopped. He heard their reptile-ish voices, they sounded nervous. Slenderman tried to lift his head but received a kick in the side for his effort. It was strong enough to turn him to his stomach. He didn't bother to move afterwards, there was no point. One of them said something but it sounded more like an expletive than anything else and then they were gone. Slenderman didn't move anyway, he didn't have enough energy to do so and everything hurt. They didn't beat him to death but it didn't matter, what they have failed the weather would finish. Slenderman could've been a creature that an individual crossed only at their peril but even he wasn't invincible. The last thing he heard before sliding into darkness was an engine of a car.

oOo

 _Back to present moment._

Slenderman came back to the present when he felt that the water was getting cooler. It was about time to actually wash himself. The bruises would vanish and his cracked ribs would be healed in a matter of days provided he would be resting and allowing his healing factor to work its magic.

The soap was scented and smelled of fruits. It foamed nicely and stung when he washed his wounded tentacle slit. The towels were fluffy and pleasant to the touch except when he was drying his back and abused ribs. The bathrobe was soft and covered him better than the grey blanket. All in all pretty good conditions for recovery.

When he was putting the soap in its place he noticed that there were no man's items there. He noticed two boxes on the shelf. After careful inspection he found that one contained tampons and the other scented panty liners, he put the back as if they would bite his fingers off. He continued to look around and quickly came to a conclusion that this bathroom belonged to a single lady who lived alone. Interesting but also worrying, given who she did interrupt the previous evening. Would they come back for him? What would she do, how would she behave? How would they behave?

His musings were interrupted by his hostess knocking on the bathroom door. He limped to the door and opened it.

"Ready?" She asked.

Slenderman turned to reach for the blanket.

"No, leave it there. I'll deal with it later." The woman waved her hand dismissively. "Come, let's bandage your ribs."

He let her lead him back into the kitchen and living room. It was cooler there, but it was only natural that a bathroom would be warmer. His hostess sat him on the couch and brought elastic bandages.

"Okay, show me that ribcage of yours." She pointed at his chest.

Slenderman glanced down at his torso and hesitated for a second. Did she expect him to completely disrobe? Not like she didn't see him the day before…

"Oh, come on. Don't be a prude." She seemed to have guessed his reservations. "Juts slip it off your shoulders."

He did as told and Michelle sat next to him on the couch, inspecting his ribs.

"This looks better than it should." She noticed. "You have some sort of healing powers, don't you. "It wasn't a question. "Let's see how your back looks like."

He didn't move.

"Don't be a big baby." The woman scolded him. "I won't harm you; if I wanted I'd do it yesterday when I had the best opportunity."

He reluctantly turned to show her his back. It was in his best interest but it still wasn't pleasant experience.

Her hands touched the puffy tentacle slit and he jumped slightly.

"Sorry, it looks like it's inflamed. I think there's something sipping from it." She gently touched the skin around the swell and pressed.

" _Stop! It's water."_

Michelle stared at the creature in front of her. The voice… it wasn't a voice as such. It reached her but it wasn't sound so much as it was vibration. But this vibration was close to buzzing of so many insects, something with intensity of hornet hive and quietness of a single mosquito.

Slenderman stiffened as if he did something inappropriate of unplanned.

"You can speak?" Michelle asked in shock.

He didn't reply. Michelle stood up and moved to face the creature.

"Why haven't you done it before?"

Slenderman didn't reply just turned his head away. It seemed that he didn't want to say anything else at the moment.

"Fine, if you don't want to, I can't force you." She straightened.

In reply he reached and handed her the bandages.

"Okay, okay. I'll bandage, and will be extra careful with that tentacle slit." She took the bandage. "Now, sit normally and hold your hands up."

He did as instructed and before he knew; his torso was wrapped in elastic bandage. The aching ribs improved.

"You can lower your arms now." She said stepping back. "I don't have any man's pyjamas so you're stuck with the bathrobe for now."

Slenderman pulled the bathrobe back on. He didn't seem to mind being without pyjamas.

"You should return to the bed for not and rest some more. But since you're up already, maybe you'd fancy some tea?" She offered.

Slenderman nodded so Michelle put the kettle on and put two tea bags into a large mug.

"I've also made chicken soup." She said pulling a bowl from a kitchen cabinet and pouring some soup into it. "Would you like some? I think it'd do you plenty of good."

She offered the bowl to her guest but he didn't move.

"Of course if you don't want any… "

Slenderman reached with his both hands, signalling that he did want the chicken soup making Michelle laugh. She have him the bowl and a spoon.

Slenderman glared at the soup at first and put the spoon away. Then the skin in place where his mouth should be split and revealed maw filled with rows upon rows of sharp, needle like teeth. He took the bowl and just drank the soup taking sips and chewing the noodles. When he was done a long, red tongue slipped out of his mouth and licked what served as his lips for lack of better word. Then the maw melted back together leaving no trace that it was ever there.

"Oh man, you're gonna need some toothbrush." Michelle said taking the bowl away. "Do you want some more?"

Slenderman shook his head no and had to steady himself when his concussion made itself known due to the head shaking.

"All right, but now you should really get back to bed." The woman insisted. "I'll bring you your tea when it'll be ready."

He obliged. The broth he was offered wasn't the food ne really needed but it was something to put into his stomach and it held some minimal nutrition value. It certainly was better than nothing. The bed offered him physical comfort, that his body needed to rest and recuperate.

When Michelle came with his tea, Slenderman was wrapped in the duvet, sound asleep. He woke again later in the evening when he needed to go to the bathroom again, drank some tea, ate some more chicken soup and went to sleep again. His body needing the all the rest it could get.

TBC


	3. Blizzard

**2586**

" _Old people told us that here, nearby, there's another, different world." She said finally. "Same as ours. When we look into water, we see our reflection, but the rest is just blurry image of that other world." (…) "Sometimes when we stand in the evening on a waterside, we hear distant bells ringing in the churches of that other world." –_ Andrzej Pilipiuk _"Wieczorne Dzwony"_

 **Warning:** Violence and its consequences.

Rating: T to M.

Pairings: none.

Disclaimer: Slenderman © Eric Knudsen (as Victor Surge), 2586 Kroków/Wieczorne Dzwony (and everything it contains) © Andrzej Pilipiuk.

Story and all OCs © Archer Black.

 **Blizzard.**

oOo

 _Holly Cross Mountains. January 4th._

Slenderman woke late again. This time his surroundings were not as unexpected as the day before, in fact they were welcomed. On the previous evening his hostess left him a clock on top of the chest of drawers so he could see the time. The clock was electric and displayed the time in red, glowing numbers. Right now it showed that it was just past noon.

Suddenly he felt the call of nature when the fluids he digested last evening reminded about themselves, forcing him to get out of the comfortable bed. As he sat up his ribs didn't hurt as much and his head didn't spin. His healing factor worked well again even if it kept him unconscious through the night after the attack and made him sleep for most of the previous day, whole night and half of this day already.

Getting out of the bed didn't cause him any unpleasant sensations either which was a good sign. He really was much better than the day before. He certainly was good enough to be able to go to the bathroom on his own. Outside the door he heard some soft clatter, some rustling and other indefinable kitchen sounds; it meant that his hostess was being busy.

When he left the bedroom he was surprised to see the woman wasn't doing any house chores but in fact was unpacking some bags. She looked as if she just returned home and she even smelled of frosty air. Her departure didn't wake him up, neither did her arrival.

Michelle noticed her house guest standing in the door and gave him a once over. He looked the same as before, except for the bruise on his head that was almost entirely gone and the scab that looked as it would fall off soon. The faceless being stepped into the kitchen, the carpet slippers and the bathrobe made him look ridiculous. She grinned.

"I see you feel better today." She said to fill the silence.

Slenderman stepped closer and gave the bags a meaningful look.

"What? I have to go to the grocery shop and pharmacist. I was out for almost two weeks, I need to restock." She gave him a serious glare.

In reply Slenderman reached and pulled an orthopaedic collar from the bag she was now unpacking.

"Yeah, well, like I've said. I've been to a pharmacist too." She shrugged and Slenderman gave it a closer look as if pondering about its purpose. "Actually, you're the one responsible for this one."

Hearing that Slenderman immediately put the collar away as if showing that he didn't want to have anything to do with that abomination.

"Relax I'm not going to put it on you." Michelle sighed. "It's just that when I found you I had only two options. One was to move you and the other was to just let you continue to inhale snow. I didn't know what happened, for all I knew you could have had spine damage but I had to move you to make sure you wouldn't suffocate." She took the collar and lifted it. "I realised that I was caught unprepared and I don't like being caught by surprise like that. It's always better to have something and don't need it than to need something and don't have it. Carrying one of these is not mandatory, but it is not forbidden and I have enough space so I'd rather have it even if with little luck I will never have to use it."

Slenderman nodded in understanding.

"Plus, I have some ointment for that slit of yours, it really looked painful." She pulled a box with some geometric shapes on and a fancy name, all in nice, light blue colour. "The pharmacist said it would reduce swelling and inflammation caused by injury and that it doesn't irritate skin."

He stared at the box for a moment and the pointed at the door.

"Huh?" Michelle looked at the door too and then back to her guest. He pointed at himself and then at the door. "Oh. Sure but if you like to bath, you need your bandages off."

Slenderman looked down at himself and then seemed to consider something for a moment. Finally he sat at the couch and gestured for Michelle to come over.

"Can you wait until I unpack these?" She asked pointing at the two bags, one that she was currently emptying and another waiting to be unpacked.

In response Slenderman shifter slightly but meaningfully.

Michelle looked at him and then at her bags.

"Well, that can wait for few minutes." She shrugged. "Or you could just go, wee-wee and get back."

Slenderman crossed his legs, shifted again and slid the bathrobe from his shoulders.

"Fine." She said in resignation. "You do know that if you feel good enough you may try to take it off yourself?" She asked pointing at the clip that held the end of the bandage in place.

Slenderman looked down at his bandaged ribcage, at the woman, at the bandages and at the woman again. He didn't say anything nor did he wrinkle his featureless face in grimace but the sense of disbelief on his side was palpable.

Michelle looked at the bandages and wondered briefly what he could mean but then she realised that for her the spice bandage was perfectly obvious, she still remembered the defence class1) back at school and various first aid techniques they've been forced to practice on each other; but to him the herringbone-like pattern of the bandage must've been closer to a Gordian Knot than to actual dressing.

"Okay, I get it; you don't know how to unwrap it." She reached and began undoing the elastic bandage. "It's all right; at least I'll have a chance to give your tentacle slit a close look again."

Michelle was done with unwrapping quickly leaving the bandage in a mess; she would roll it properly later. What she was interested with were her guest's ribs and back. Slenderman's chest looked much better, the bruises were faded to the point where she had trouble spotting where they were, even the worst of them.

"And how are your ribs? Do they hurt?" She asked and saw Slenderman slowly shaking his head 'no'. "Maybe we can try not to wrap them anymore? See what will happen? If they'll start to ache again I can always bandage them again."

Slenderman didn't waste a beat in nodding in agreement.

"Great. Now show me your back."

Slenderman turned slowly and without much enthusiasm. Michelle noticed it and rolled her eyes but didn't comment.

"Better but still puffy." She focused on the wounded area. "Looks like this part of you heal a lot slower than the rest. Perhaps because you sleep on your back?" She reached and gently touched the swollen skin. Slenderman jerked at the sudden touch. "Sorry if it hurt. Maybe if your ribs will allow, sleep tonight on your side? And after you're done in the bathroom I'd like to apply that ointment, maybe it will help."

Slenderman nodded again and slid the bathrobe back to his shoulders.

"I must say that I am impressed by your healing ability." She admitted as he was re-arranging the robe to cover him properly again. "You're almost as good as new and it's merely a second day of your recovery. I'd say that if you feel up to it, tomorrow you can be on your merry way to wherever you need to go."

That caught his attention; he immediately brought his face to her level.

" _Today."_

Michelle blinked. She didn't expect him to talk again. The voice was almost the same as before but there was more persistence in it now.

"Not a chance." She shook her head.

Slenderman didn't move.

"Look, I realise that you feel a lot better but your back is lagging a bit. It looks like it needs a boost to catch up with the rest of you. So I want to try that ointment and see how well it will work with your own healing factor." She stayed firm. "And if tomorrow morning you feel good enough, you'll be released back into the wild."

Slenderman straightened himself and winced – his ribs were much better but reminded him that they were not fully healed yet.

"See? That's what I'm talking about." The grimace didn't go unnoticed by Michelle.

Slenderman sighed and went to the door. He was perfectly aware that his recuperation was the result of his healing powers working in decent conditions. Another night in warm bed could only work in his favour. Especially if it would help with his tentacle slit.

"Besides, your suit is not ready yet. It's still crumpled after washing." He heard the woman say behind him. He turned to her and nodded once acknowledging what she just said.

oOo

This time he didn't take him an hour to bath and Michelle was surprised to see him out so quickly. Before she could ask him if he was ready to get the ointment applied he took the box, sat down, pulled out the package leaflet and began to read it. The scene was so abstract that she almost laughed.

He was done pretty quickly and it seemed that he didn't have any objections to the medicine because he took the tube out of the box and held it for Michelle to take. When she did, he turned his back to her and slipped the bathrobe off his shoulders again.

She sat behind him and gave the swollen tentacle orifice a close look. It wasn't leaking anything this time, but it wasn't as swollen as the day before either. Still it was raised and looked different from other slits. It wasn't red – there were no red parts on Slenderman except for his maw and tongue which were crimson, but these appeared only when he ate or drank. The slit was as white as the rest of him, but unlike the healthy ones its edges wouldn't close in completely.

Michelle took the tube and opened it; the ointment was transparent and runny. The instruction stated that she had to rub small amount into the skin.

"Could you close it?" She gave the tube and the cap to Slenderman.

She glared at the slit trying to figure how to best administer the thin goo without it getting inside of the opening. Finally she decided how to proceed and gently touched the Slenderman's skin with her ointment covered fingers. The moment she made contact Slenderman jolted, it was hard to tell if it was pain, the cold ointment or both.

"Sorry." Michelle winced. She tried to be as delicate as possible with delivering the medicine. "There's no way around it, I'll go as easy as I can."

Slenderman nodded and steadied himself again.

"Here it goes." This time she gave him a warning.

He jolted again but not as much as before. On her part Michelle did her best not to cause him too much discomfort but she also had to rub the salve into his skin. She didn't know just how sensitive these slits were. She was certain that Slenderman was stronger, sturdier, more powerful than any human being, but everyone had some sort of weak points.

"Okay, this is as good as I can do right now." She stood up from the couch. "I don't want to cause you any pain so it will have to absorb on its own."

He turned and proceeded with putting the bathrobe back on his shoulders.

"I want to apply it again in the evening and tomorrow morning." She stated and went to wash her hands in the kitchen sink.

Slenderman snapped his head toward her upon hearing her declaration. He didn't look happy with such a prospect.

"I don't know why yours back slit is not healing as fast as the rest of you, but if this ointment will help you shouldn't complain." She dried her hands and sniffed her fingers; they still smelled like the ointment. "If it works as it should, your back should improve so it would be less unpleasant."

He shifted but it didn't look as if he was convinced. Michelle understood his reservations, it was only natural, no living being liked to hurt.

"Tell you what; if it won't look any better than it did now, we'll just leave it be." She proposed.

Slenderman titled his head slightly giving Michelle a clear signal that he knew that she was treating him like a small kid.

"I still have the leftover chicken soup from yesterday and I plan to use it for tomato soup." She instantly and deliberately changed the subject. "What say you go to bed, keep your back warm and wait for the soup?"

Slenderman didn't move for a moment.

" _I'm not a child."_

He finally said, got up and vanished behind the door. Michelle stared at the door for a moment; she didn't think he would speak to her twice in one day. Then she just smirked and shook her head, that looked like slightly wounded man pride.

She sighed and followed the faceless being, knocked on the door and poked her head in.

"Okay, my recognisably adult guest, if you're bored there are books on the shelf if you feel like reading." She said trying to sound deadly serious. "I'd give you my computer but I need it to work and I'm not sure how well it would work for you."

oOo

The rest of the day was uneventful. Slenderman chose himself "20 000 Leagues Under the Sea" and spent the rest of the day with the book with short breaks for meals. Michelle busied herself with her work and house chores.

It was evening when she went to see Slenderman's back and bring him his clothes. The creature was sitting in the bed reading the book and Michelle was surprised to see that he was almost done with it. He surely could read fast.

The inspection of his back showed that the tentacle slit didn't improve as much as Michelle hoped for but when he didn't jerk at her touch it was clear that it didn't hurt as much as before proving that something did work. Michelle wasn't sure if it was Slenderman's own natural healing powers alone or were they backed with the ointment's properties. Either way it was progress so she applied larger dose in hope that it would work better that way. Slenderman didn't oppose.

When she was done she took the tube, wished him good night and left him so he could finish his reading in peace.

oOo

 _The next morning._

It was the first time when Slenderman didn't woke on his own but was awaken. He would actually sleep longer if it was up to him, but his hostess decided that he needed waking. Last evening he stayed up a bit longer just to finish the book so he wasn't thrilled about prospect of getting up, yet he also wanted to return to his own dwelling and that meant that he would have to wake up and leave the nice, warm bed.

Before he could properly sit up she produced the tube of that dreadful substance that she treated his tentacle slit.

"I'd like to apply this before you'll get dressed." She said.

Slenderman sighed, rubbed his featureless face and went through all the trouble of unrobing. The woman sat at the edge of the bed and examined his back.

"Looks better." Her fingers touched the still slightly swollen skin. "The improvement is small but it's there. Do you want me to apply the ointment again?" She asked.

Slenderman looked back at her and nodded once.

It wasn't pleasant. The goo was cold and slimy but his hostess was doing her best not to cause him any pain.

"Okay. All done here." She finally stood up. "Come for the breakfast when you're ready, I'll make you some scrambled eggs."

He nodded to her again and she left.

It took him a moment to muster will to leave the bed. It was way too comfortable for his good. When he finally managed to leave it, he moved to inspect his suit. At first glance it looked pristine. It was well washed and ironed. On the other hanger was his shirt, also ironed but he could see that it wasn't impeccable, there were some marks that he could see and he instantly knew it was where the blood stains were – his blood stains.

He stood there glaring at the not entirely removed blood stains, contemplating them and what happened to him. The woman certainly did a lot for him and despite being what he was he could appreciate efforts of other beings. Especially if said efforts saved his hide from certain end in an icy grave as he had no doubts that his attackers would return for him should she not take him away.

Finally he undid the bathrobe that served as his temporary raiment and reached for the shirt. His hostess did what she could with it, it was still better than what he could ever manage on his own. It would have to do for now and later on he'd just have to get himself another one.

As he was donning the shirt he felt something strange, a gentle whiff of delicate aroma. A strange feeling came to him. He reached for the suit and brought it close to his face to sniff it. He was right! His clothes were treated with fabric softener! One with delicate, womanly floral aroma! Outrageous! How dared she! His manly, his SlenderMANLY business suit smelling like some spring flowers! That was beneath his dignity! Although, despite everything, the smell wasn't all that bad… and he had little choice but to put it on.

oOo

Michelle was breaking the eggs when Slenderman entered the living room and moved to the dining table where he sat. He looked a bit stiff but she attributed it to newly washed clothes.

The creature waited patiently for her to finish preparing the food but when the plate was in front of him, he wolfed the scrambled eggs with appetite. Slenderman was many things but picky eater was not one of them.

As soon as the food was gone from his plate his got up, marched to the stove where his shoes waited for him and put them on. He was now ready to leave. Unfortunately one glance outside the window revealed that the weather has changed. To say that it was snowing would be an understatement, the snowfall outside was closer to a blizzard.

Slenderman wasn't pleased. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot.

"Calm down, it won't be snowing all day." Michelle said and took another bite of her food. "When I was out yesterday I checked the weather cast, it said that snow storms were possible this morning but that it would past before noon." She added after swallowing.

Slenderman didn't move, instead he pointed an accusatory finger at her.

"I know what I have promised you. To be honest I didn't think it would last this long, I thought it would end by now." She admitted. "If I could, I'd check the weathercast for you right now, but your presence disrupts radio connectivity. Just give it some time, it will end soon."

Slenderman sighed. He would wait. What else could he do? Last time he travelled in snow storm it ended badly for him. He was painfully aware of his own vulnerability in conditions like these. And he couldn't really blame it on his hostess, she didn't control the weather.

TBC

1) Defence Class was an actual class back when I was in high school. It was mandatory class (as all classes in Polish school system, except for one) with the scope of teaching being focused on widely defined Civil Defence issues (yes, THAT Civil Defence, the one with the yellow/orange circle with blue triangle inside), methods of defence from various threats and preparation for proceeding during various catastrophic events, first aid techniques, and various military issues such as types of alerts, weaponry (including shooting lessons), general information about types of weapons and their deployment, information about military service and some topics in the international law.

In practice we were taught about the types of weaponry, trained some first air, were taught how to aim and shoot (and not shoot ourselves in the process) and to throw a hand grenade. Oh, and one of our class mates was dressed up in complete rubber protection suit with full head gas mask that makes any human being looking like midget, olive elephant with amputated ears.

Today in high schools the Defence Class is replaced by "Education for Security" which is the same minus shooting lessons.

But it doesn't matter because most people don't remember anything from these lessons (because they're too busy laughing at their class mates dressed in complete rubber protection suits with full head gas masks – I swear, we were all rolling in laughter).


	4. Expect the Unexpected

**2586**

" _Old people told us that here, nearby, there's another, different world." She said finally. "Same as ours. When we look into water, we see our reflection, but the rest is just blurry image of that other world." (…) "Sometimes when we stand in the evening on a waterside, we hear distant bells ringing in the churches of that other world." –_ Andrzej Pilipiuk _"_ _Wieczorne Dzwony"_ _1_ _)_

 **Warning:** Violence and its consequences.

Rating: T to M.

Pairings: none.

Disclaimer: Slenderman © Eric Knudsen (as Victor Surge), 2586 Kroków/Wieczorne Dzwony (and everything it contains) © Andrzej Pilipiuk.

Story and all OCs © Archer Black.

 **Expect the unexpected.**

oOo

 _Holly Cross Mountains. January 5_ _th_ _._

The blizzard lasted longer than Michelle expected. It looked as if was about to stop couple of times but every time the snow storm reignited. It looked worse than the weathercasts foretell and Michelle was starting to worry. It wasn't just about Slenderman's departure – she hosted him for three days now and having him for another day or two didn't make any difference. Her true worries laid somewhere else – if the snow would continue the power lines could break either because of the snow and ice accumulating on the wires or because of snow breaking tree branches that could severe the power lines.

Slenderman wasn't thrilled either. Michelle expected him to be displeased because he couldn't leave as he wanted. To her it was only logical that the creature wanted to return to wherever he lived, home holds certain value after all and who wouldn't want to return there especially after the kind of misadventure the Slenderman suffered, but the creature only stood in the window observing the blizzard. He seemed more uneasy than angry. Perhaps he was worried about what would happen to his dwelling place in his absence?

Not knowing what else to do and not having any urgent chores to perform Michelle decided to just busy herself with work. She struggled for some time to focus on the job at hand and not on her musing over the weather and possible power shortages, but at one point she simply gave up, closed her computer and went to the kitchen area.

"Want some tea?" She asked Slenderman who stood still like a statue.

The creature nodded but didn't turn to her. He was observing the weather without a rest. When the beverage was ready he accepted the steaming mug silently. Time passed slowly and Michelle was about to ask her guest if he wanted something to eat when he shifted and turned to her. She stood from her spot on the couch and came closer to see what happened.

The snow seemed to lessen. It didn't look like it would stop completely yet it was an improvement. Michelle's eyes darted to the clock and she hissed through her teeth, it was afternoon and in two hours it would start to get dark. She pulled her phone and tried to connect to the internet with her Wi-Fi but the connection was feeble – Slenderman's presence disrupted the radio waves generated by the router. She opened the weather app nevertheless, it was loading slowly and she only got the initial view, the detailed information, the hour-by-hour view and day-by-day casts wouldn't load at all. Still it didn't look as if the weather would improve by much any time soon.

"I don't think it will get better today." She said closing the weather app.

Slenderman observed her in silence and didn't offer any indication that he had formed an opinion on the matter.

"The snow seems to lessen now but I can't promise you that it will stay like this and won't worsen again." She said honestly. "If you want to leave today so badly, now would be the time. But just so you know, I won't kick you out, especially not in this weather. In fact I'm not sure if it's such a great idea for you to leave now."

Slenderman looked outside the window again and then glared at his hostess again.

" _Today."_ He buzzed.

She sighed, gave him a once over and didn't like what she saw. It was middle of winter and Slenderman wore nothing but thin business suit. It was fine suit on its own, well-tailored, stylish, perfect – for summer. Certainly not for snow and frost.

"Are you sure you want to go outside dressed like that?" She asked and Slenderman glared at his clothes to see what she meant. "I don't have any man's winter clothes but maybe I can at least give you a lift?" She offered but he only shook his head 'no'.

"Hoo-kay." She breathed and turned to the door to lead her guest out when a loud banging made her stop in her tracks. She quickly checked her mental list of people who could visit her at this time in this weather.

Slenderman for his part turned to the direction the knocking came from, tensed and became perfectly still. When the knocking repeated he didn't hesitate but grabbed Michelle and pulled her so they would both sit just below the window on the same as the entry door.

Michelle huffed and glared at her houseguest.

"What the hell are you doing?" She asked perplexed.

" _Stay silent now."_ He said sounding not unlike single buggered bee. It seemed to be his attempt at whispering.

Michelle didn't respond to it, whoever was there knocking at her door, Slenderman seemed to want to avoid. He seemed that he somehow recognised who it was and Michelle if it could be the same person, or people, that attacked and beaten him?

Whoever it was, they knocked two more times. Michelle wanted to get up but Slenderman laid his hand on her shoulder stopping her. She turned to him and he silently shook his head.

After another moment Michelle heard strange noise as if someone was scrapping at the wall and then grabbed the window ledge outside. Whoever it was, they either tried to take a peek inside or break in. It also told her that it wasn't just one person. Her windows weren't very high, but certainly not low enough for an adult to just look freely. Someone would have help up the peeker.

Whoever it was, they clearly weren't burglars for they did not break the window. Michelle glanced at the other window, the one on the other wall – if they would try to do the same there, they would be able to see both her and Slenderman.

Slenderman however didn't seem to be worrying about it. He just sat there calmly. After what seemed to be eternity the scrapping sounds suggested that the mysterious visitor climbed back down. Michelle glared at the other window in worry, but instead of seeing someone's head looking in, she heard some strange voices outside, just below the window. She couldn't understand what was being said, and she didn't recognise the voices but they sounded tad odd but she couldn't put a finger on it, they were too silent.

Slenderman was trying to listen on what was being said but the voices were muffled. He focused on his hostess and her reactions. She had every right to be bewildered by this; he knew that he would have to explain it to the woman, after all by helping him she got involved… And then he realised that for all this time he never learned her name.

" _What is your name?"_ He asked in the same 'single, barely alive bee' whisper as moments before.

Michelle gave him surprised glare. That she didn't saw coming.

"Michelle." She answered him.

He cocked his head to the side but didn't comment.

TBC

Short chapter this time, but worry not, it's planned this way.


	5. How to outsmart your enemy

**2586**

" _Old people told us that here, nearby, there's another, different world." She said finally. "Same as ours. When we look into water, we see our reflection, but the rest is just blurry image of that other world." (…) "Sometimes when we stand in the evening on a waterside, we hear distant bells ringing in the churches of that other world." –_ Andrzej Pilipiuk _"Wieczorne Dzwony"_ _1_ _)_

 **Warning:** Violence and its consequences.

Rating: T to M.

Pairings: none.

Disclaimer: Slenderman © Eric Knudsen (as Victor Surge), 2586 Kroków/Wieczorne Dzwony (and everything it contains) © Andrzej Pilipiuk.

Story and all OCs © Archer Black.

 **How to outsmart your enemy.**

oOo

 _Holly Cross Mountains. January 5_ _th_ _._

They have sat there maybe for fifteen minutes, maybe less before Slenderman decided that it was probably okay to stand up. It was a quarter of an hour spent in silence and Michelle felt that she was slowly starting to nod off due to monotony of their situation and the only reason why she didn't drift off completely was because she wasn't comfortable enough.

"Now, what the hell was that?" Michelle spat forcefully.

Slenderman seemed to ignore her in favour of looking outside of the window in as discreet manner as he could.

"I am talking to you." She didn't give up.

" _Discretion."_ He finally buzzed, he sounded only marginally stronger than before. _"Avoiding confrontation if possible."_

"Confrontation with whom?" She asked. It seemed that she would have to drag the answers from him.

Slenderman stepped from one foot to another. He seemed to be uncomfortable with having to talk so much.

" _Rachmani._ _1_ _)_ " He replied in the same 'single, half-dead bee' tone as when they sat under the window.

"Rachmani? Are those the people who have beaten you?" Michelle questioned, this time calmly. "Are you avoiding confronting with them?"

Slenderman nodded in answer.

"Are they dangerous?" Michelle pushed. She needed to know.

" _Not to you."_ He imparted and looked away.

"But they are dangerous to you. And now they know you're here." She stated. "Does this mean that they will storm in and lynch you?"

Slenderman stood still for a second and looked back at Michelle.

" _No."_

"What stops them?" She questioned. "If they were bold enough to brutalise you, then what stops them from burgling into my house and finishing the job?"

It took a moment for him to answer as if he had to search for proper words.

" _They're bind. Their entry to this realm is sanctioned by law of obedience."_ He finally spoke.

It was the longest she heard him speak so far but she needed to know more. This situation was turning out to be more serious by the moment.

"I don't understand. The law of obedience… What law of obedience? What do they have to obey?" She inquired.

" _They need to observe local rules, laws, custom."_ He explained. _"Your land, your rules."_

"Again, what does that mean?" Michelle continued the interrogation. "Do I simply decide that all violence is banned and they have to fall in line?"

" _You have to communicate the new rule."_

"Okay, so I make the rule and I have to make sure they know that such a new rule is in place for them to follow." She nodded. That made sense, to obey a law one had to know that the law existed in the first place. "So… Does that mean that you have to do as I say too?" She asked trying not to smirk.

" _No."_

"Why not?" She blinked.

" _I am not a Rachman."_

No, he wasn't, she sighed. He was definitely a Slenderman. And if the lore had it right, and so far it pretty much did, the only thing he ever obeyed was his own whim.

"I see. How about the 'my land' part?" Michelle tried to take different approach. "What does it mean? All of human world? Or just the land I own?"

" _The land you lay claim to or the one bound to you by your heritage."_ Came the precise answer.

"And outside of my land?" She continued her enquiry. "What happens there? Do they have to follow my rules if there are no other rules in place, or are they allowed to do as they please?"

" _They are not obliged to follow your rule."_ He revealed. _"But as a law giver you are protected by immunity, they cannot touch you."_

Michelle sighed. Despite the fact that Slenderman just spoke more in few moments that he did in previous two days, nothing that he said presented any ready solution to his perilous situation. Still she wanted to find a way to send him away safely, she felt responsible for the wellbeing of a creature that she sheltered.

"We're back in square one." Michelle scratched her head. "I don't suppose you know why they have attacked you?"

Slenderman slowly shook his head 'no'.

"Fine. So, the moment they see you, they will lay their hands on you." She pondered for a moment. "Wait! The legends say that you can teleport, right?"

Slenderman nodded 'yes'.

"Can you just teleport from here? I mean directly from here to where you need to be?" She queried. It was an obvious solution and she suspected that it wasn't that simple, but it was worth a shot. Sometimes the simplest solutions were the hardest to think of.

" _No."_

"Okay. I had to ask. May I ask why not?"

" _Need to see. Need to know. Need to triangulate."_ He replied.

Michelle nodded. That seemed logical. Teleportation seemed like a simple thing but she was science savvy enough to know just how complicated it really was. And not just the breaking matter into energy or data part which was science fiction (except for quantum physics that is), but the location of the origin point and the destination, and not re-materialising in the same spot as another solid object.

"How about I can walk you to where you can teleport from? As long as we're staying on my land I can protect you, right?" She asked. "If Rachmani show themselves I'll just tell them that I forbid them from using violence on my land they will have to abide by my rule. Is that right?"

Slenderman stood motionlessly for a second glaring at his hostess. That was an idea. The thing was that he didn't expect her proposing that. In the past when people still remembered of their existence, they would rather avoid confronting even a single Rachman, let alone more than one. Sometimes people would get ill after meeting a Rachman, though today with vaccinations and modern medicine in both realms removed that threat.

Slenderman slowly nodded his head 'yes'.

"Great. Let's go then."

Michelle turned to the doors but he grabbed her arm gently and when she looked back, he pointed at the window.

Michelle walked closer and growled in annoyance. The snow storm was back and it looked like it wouldn't subside at least until evening.

"Oh TRUCK it." She spat.

TBC

Okay, next chapter, we'll finally meet Slenderman's menace, the Rachmani!

1) Singular form is Rachman (pronounce Rah-man), Rachmani is plural form. It's because the term comes from Polish book, and was made my Polish author, it falls under Polish grammar. Michelle instantly recognises "Rachmani" as plural because she is Polish; it is only natural for her. I will be merciful for all the English speakers (and other non-Polish speakers) and keep the declension out of it and just stick to Rachman for singular and Rachmani for plural.

For those interested in linguistics or plainly curious how it would sound if declined, here's how it would be (name of case, question it answers, singular, plural).

 **Mianownik – Nominative** (Kto? Co? – Who? What?)

 _Kto/co to jest? – Who/what it is?_ **Rachman, Rachmani.**

 **Dopełniacz – Genitive** (Kogo? Czego? – Whom? What?)

 _Kogo/czego nie widzę? – Whom/what I don't see?_ **Rachmana, Rachmanów.**

 **Celownik – Dative** (Komu? Czemu? – To whom? To what?)

 _Komu/czemu się przyglądam? To whom/what I look closely?_ **Rachmanowi, Rachmanom.**

 **Biernik – Accusative** (Kogo? Co? – To who? To what?)

 _Kogo/co widzę? – Who/what I see here?_ **Rachmana, Rachmanów.**

 **Narzędnik – Instrumental** (Z kim? Z czym? – With whom? With what?)

 _Z kim/czym tańczę? – With whom/what I'm dancing?_ **With Rachman, with Rachmanami.**

 **Miejscownik – Locative** (O kim? O czym? – About who? About what?)

 _O kim/czym piszę? – About who/what I am writing?_ **About Rachman, about Rachmanach.**

 **Wołacz – Vocative** (no question, only exclamation)

 **Oy, Rachman! Oy, Rachmani!**

Now you can fully appreciate what I have spared you.


	6. Rules Rulez

**2586**

" _Old people told us that here, nearby, there's another, different world." She said finally. "Same as ours. When we look into water, we see our reflection, but the rest is just blurry image of that other world." (…) "Sometimes when we stand in the evening on a waterside, we hear distant bells ringing in the churches of that other world." –_ Andrzej Pilipiuk _"Wieczorne Dzwony"_ _1_ _)_

 **Warning:** Violence and its consequences.

Rating: T to M.

Pairings: none.

Disclaimer: Slenderman © Eric Knudsen (as Victor Surge), 2586 Kroków/Wieczorne Dzwony (and everything it contains) © Andrzej Pilipiuk.

Story and all OCs © Archer Black.

 **Rules rulez.**

oOo

 _Holly Cross Mountains. January 6_ _th_ _._

The snow storm didn't end before the night and when they both went to rest it was still raging. The next morning however the weather improved greatly. The clouds were still heavy and low, but the snow stopped almost entirely. There were few stray snowflakes gently floating down but nothing more. Michelle's internet connection was still shaky due to her guest's presence so she couldn't check the weathercast but she had a sinking suspicion that the weather would change to something worse now. Either it would get warmer or colder. Warmer scenario would bring thaw which would turn everything into puddles of mud. Colder scenario could bring dry or moist frost. Dry frost would result in clear sky and cold so intense it would make everything squeak. Moist frost would bring winter fogs that would settle on everything. Slenderman wasn't thrilled by any of the possibilities.

It was just past nine when Michelle decided that she was ready to walk Slenderman out. The preparations included insisting on rubbing another dose of the ointment into his slowly healing tentacle slit and eating breakfast while complaining that Slenderman wasn't dressed for such a weather to which he only shrugged nonchalantly.

She led the way to the exit door and put her jacket and boots on, making sure she was ready for the cold air. Slenderman waited patiently for her to finish. He waited this long, few additional minutes wouldn't change anything.

When she was ready, Michelle unlocked the door, opened it was about to step out… when she saw a group of… Well, they certainly weren't humans. She could feel Slenderman stiffening behind her.

There were four of them. One at the front and tree standing behind. They were… boy, they were tall. And well-built broad shoulders and narrow waists with muscular limbs. Even puffy winter clothes couldn't mask that. And winter clothes they did have! Everything they wore looked absolutely warm and elegant. The fabric of their clothes was smooth and luxurious. Their boots were solid and polished into high shine.

To see their faces Michelle had to look up and she instantly regretted doing that. Their heads were large, just like everything else in them, their skin scaly and in various shades of green and brown. Their lips were wide, frog-like wide but reptilian. They didn't have noses like humans; instead they had slight bumps with nostrils. And their eyes… their eyes were large, inhuman, golden-green irises with vertical pupils resembling crocodile eyes.

The creature at the front had one clawed hand raised to knock. Michelle instantly knew that these were the Rachmani that Slenderman mentioned and that she took them by surprise. They came again and she opened the door as they planned to knock.

She instantly became angry but she said nothing deciding to play it cool for now. It would do her no good to just explode in their inhuman faces, it would be better to just let them start and see what they had to say for themselves.

"Are you the inhabitant of this house?" The front Rachman asked. His voice was just as inhuman as his face and yet strangely normal. He spoke calmly with local accent.

"This is my house." She replied dryly. "And you are?"

"I am an Elder of my people, my name is Cyril1)." The Rachman answered her question politely. "You are harbouring a… creature we are pursuing. Hand him over to us and we will bother you no more."

"You are the ones who attacked this… creature, as you call him?" Michelle said it as if it was question but Elder knew exactly what it was.

"We have pursued him and we have seized him but we were interrupted and he managed to flee." He confirmed.

"It's called 'aggravated assault' resulting in 'grievous bodily harm', that's what it is." She retorted.

"So this is how it is going to be?" The Elder sighed with poorly hidden irritation. "I'll have you know, miss, that this being that you shelter is wanted for a serious crime."

"And what did he do?" Michelle asked.

Slenderman said that he didn't know why he's been attacked. It was possible that he lied but there wasn't really any reason for him to do so. It wasn't as if she didn't know who or what he was, he might just as well go for it and be honest.

"We believe that he has abducted and devoured one of our freshly hatched nestlings." The Elder revealed. "Certainly, you are aware that he is infamous for such deeds."

"Did you do it?" She turned to Slenderman who stood in the shadows behind her.

He stepped few paces closer and shook his head in denial.

"Surely you do not believe him?" The Elder asked.

"And why shouldn't I?" Michelle asked back. "It is your word against his and as far as I am concerned, you're just as credible as he is." She added. "Do you have any proof that he did it, any evidence of his guilt?"

"We do not, and we do not need one." The Elder persisted. "It had to be him, who else could have done it? It is common knowledge that he devours children."

" _I have not visited, nor have I hunted in 'your' realm."_ Slenderman's voice was nothing like it was before, when he spoke to her for the first time and definitely not like it was the day before when he was 'whispering'. This time it sounded loud and authoritative, it was a swarm of angry wasps and hornets made of marble and iron.

"But you do it on occasion." The Elder and his bodyguards didn't seem to be affected by that voice though.

" _Not lately."_ Slenderman's voice never faltered.

"Yet you have trespassed." The Elder insisted.

" _One cannot trespass to one's home realm. It is my birth right to be there."_ The faceless being now sounded vexed. _"It is your kind that banished me and mine from our homes to slowly die out in exile."_

"So you do not deny that you have attacked Slenderman?" Michelle interjected before the argument could escalate.

The Elder stood there silently for a moment glaring at the entity behind Michelle. His gaze held no aggression but it did hold a whole load of disgust. At first Michelle thought that he didn't hear her but just as she was about to speak again, he turned his attention at her.

"Out hunting party have caught and overpowered him, yes." He confirmed which surprised Michelle. She expected him to assure her that they have intended to apprehend him alive and intact, but the Rachman said no such thing.

"Tell you what; it ain't going happen again, not today and not here." Michelle crossed her arms. "I was informed of the Law of Obedience and this is my land. It spans from the dirt road behind the barn and to the channel on the other side of the village road. Historically even further. And I am putting my foot down right now."

"What do you declare?" The Elder asked with sombre voice. Michelle thought that his tone was serious before but now it was as heave as leaden slabs.

"I ban acts of violence on my land." She spoke calmly. "You are to abstain from any and all acts of physical violence unless you are being physically attacked yourself in which case you have the right to defend yourself. Otherwise you are not to lay your hands, or any other body parts, on anyone else, other Rachmani included."

The Elder Rachman straightened and looked down upon her with his reptilian eyes and his wide mouth shut tight. His jaw muscles tightened and he clenched his teeth. Michelle thought that he was imposing before but now he was truly dreadful. Suddenly she was painfully aware that his mouth had to open wide enough and his jaws had to be strong enough to actually bite off her head should he choose so.

"So be it." He finally said. He didn't sound thrilled but he was calm. "We shall bother you no more."

"Return home safely. And try to search for the one responsible for your missing hatchling; if it wasn't Slenderman then the one responsible is still on the loose." She said. Suddenly she felt bad for the Rachmani, they were looking for justice and they were led astray by prejudice.

Michelle reached for the door handle to close them as the Elder turned away and begun to walk away when one of the younger Rachmani launched forward with snarl on his face.

"Not so fast, you… "He started to growl but Michelle saw the look he was giving her and instantly shut the door right into his face. She could hear the sound of a falling body; it seemed that she managed to get him. There were few muffled curses coming from the other side followed by the voice of Elder scolding the young Rachman.

When she turned to Slenderman she saw his shoulders trembling in mute laughter.

"Was that so funny?" She asked.

" _He was one of those I met in the forest."_ He explained. His voice changed now. It was lighter.

Michelle nodded. She could understand why he took such joy in that Rachman being hit by her floor.

"So tell me, did you take that hatchling?" She asked.

Slenderman shook his head 'no'.

"He was right, you know, the lore states that you abduct children." She insisted.

" _Disobedient children that wander away where their parents forbid them."_ He specified. _"Rachmani nestlings too young to be disobedient do not walk or talk yet."_

"So it had to be someone else." Michelle nodded. "Come; let us give them few minutes to depart."

Slenderman didn't oppose.

TBC

And so we have finally met Rachmani. We haven't see last of them yet though.

The next chapter won't be too long.

1) Cyril – a name of Greek origin, this is one of possible writing variants of the name that in Polish is written "Cyryl".


	7. Uneventful Interlude

**2586**

" _Old people told us that here, nearby, there's another, different world." She said finally. "Same as ours. When we look into water, we see our reflection, but the rest is just blurry image of that other world." (…) "Sometimes when we stand in the evening on a waterside, we hear distant bells ringing in the churches of that other world." –_ Andrzej Pilipiuk _"Wieczorne Dzwony"_ _1_ _)_

 **Warning:** Violence and its consequences.

Rating: T to M.

Pairings: none.

Disclaimer: Slenderman © Eric Knudsen (as Victor Surge), 2586 Kroków/Wieczorne Dzwony (and everything it contains) © Andrzej Pilipiuk.

Story and all OCs © Archer Black.

 **Uneventful Interlude.**

oOo

 _Holly Cross Mountains. January 6_ _th_ _._

Michelle gave the Rachmani half an hour to departure before she led Slenderman out again. Outside was calm, a crow was cawing in the distance but the yard was devoid of any presence. There were boot prints in the snow, showing that the Rachmani left in the direction of the gate next to the barn, one that led to the dirt road that marked the end of her land.

She held no illusion; they would try to ambush Slenderman outside of her land where he word was not a law. She turned to the silent being that stood beside her. He was looking around, scanning the yard.

"Where do you have to go?" She asked.

Slenderman pointed at the barn, in the same direction that Rachmani left.

"You know that they will be waiting for you somewhere?"

He nodded and began to walk the in the direction of the back gate. It seemed that snow didn't bother him.

"Damn it! Are you sure you don't want me to give you a lift?" Michelle questioned while following him. "The way I see it my car is extension of my home, my property, so you're out of their reach as long as you're inside."

Slenderman looked back at her.

" _As long as I teleport they cannot follow me fast enough to catch or even find me."_ He explained.

"But you're not dressed for these conditions; you're wearing light, summer clothes and shoes." She insisted.

" _I will be quite fine. Again, I will teleport."_ He assured her and reached for the gate to open it enough to walk outside.

Michelle sighed and followed him. Outside her yard, behind the barn serving as her garage, a wide panoramic view opened. The ground covered by snow hid fields and meadows with patches of trees here and there, and behind those, perhaps two kilometres away a forest stood like a dark wall. In the summer the view was breath taking. Now, in winter it was grim and uninviting.

They walked to the dirt road marking the border of her territory and stopped there. It was clearly visible even under the snow because of the lowering of the ground where the road ran.

"Are you really sure it's safe?" She asked again. She was nervous.

Slenderman nodded once and looked away, taking in the view. He stood there for a moment, not doing anything, just watching. Then he grew. It was amazing. He was tall even before but now he became even taller and the business suit along with him. It was so strange especially that his torso didn't grow that much; it was mostly his limbs that elongated. When he was done he was easily two times taller than Michelle, reaching over three metres in height. He turned to the woman and looked down at her.

"Farewell." He spoke in silent buzzing and vanished.

There was no special effect to his departure. No dancing lights, no weird sound, no cloud of smoke, no sparkles. One second he stood there and another he wasn't. Just like that.

Michelle sighed and looked in the direction of the forest in silent hope to see him re-materialising there but she spotted nothing. Maybe she missed his reappearing and he managed to hide himself between the trees? She wasn't sure but there was nothing there for her to see so she just turned and went back to her house. Her Wi-Fi and cell connection would be back in normal now and her time would be only hers again but she felt that it was nice to have a guest like him – silent and polite.

oOo

The rest of the winter passed without much excitement. The weather changed into frosty and foggy, then back to snow storms and to thaw, then repeated with slight variations for the rest of the winter. Michelle didn't notice any signs of Slenderman and assumed that perhaps he decided to follow example of birds and went to spend the time in tropics. Perhaps visiting Rio de Janeiro for the Carnival? Or perhaps Mardi Gras in New Orleans? The image of Slenderman marching on sambadrome made her giggle but imagining him flashing for bead strings cracked her completely. When she calmed down from her laughing fit, she decided that he'd probably be more at ease in Venetia where he could hide his identity with a mask and fancy outfit.

TBC

Okay, very short chapter, but it has to be here. The next won't be any better, but they're both needed so we can move on to the next part of this narration.


	8. First bird singing

**2586**

" _Old people told us that here, nearby, there's another, different world." She said finally. "Same as ours. When we look into water, we see our reflection, but the rest is just blurry image of that other world." (…) "Sometimes when we stand in the evening on a waterside, we hear distant bells ringing in the churches of that other world." –_ Andrzej Pilipiuk _"Wieczorne Dzwony"_ _1_ _)_

 **Warning:** Violence and its consequences.

Rating: T to M.

Pairings: none.

Disclaimer: Slenderman © Eric Knudsen (as Victor Surge), 2586 Kroków/Wieczorne Dzwony (and everything it contains) © Andrzej Pilipiuk.

Story and all OCs © Archer Black.

 **First birds singing.**

oOo

 _Holly Cross Mountains. Spring._

Spring came gently, with warmer temperatures slowly thawing the snows and each day longer than the previous. The skies were clear and the air changed – it smelled not of frost but of life waking from the slumber, it was organic and fresh. And before Michelle knew fresh grass grew and the trees' buds broke producing leaves and flowers as first spring birds chirped their songs.

As always early spring brought mud and moisture, but as it progressed the mud dried as the warm air woke bees and butterflies (and flies and Michelle knew that any moment first mosquitos would start to hunt her down). When she spotted first spider's web she knew it was about time to put mosquito nets into her windows.

It was nice, sunny Saturday with the wind being still chilly when she set up the task of making the house mosquito-proof. She setup a window cleansing tools, Velcro tape and fresh, clean mosquito nets. The house sported four double windows on the ground level and two at the attic, but she only had to secure the ground level windows as the attic was not used.

She was almost done, taping the Velcro to the last window when she spotted some movement in the lilacs growing on the verge of orchard across the road. There was someone hiding there, the fresh leaves obscured them slightly but weren't thick enough to hide them completely yet. Still that someone was hidden pretty well; if not for that slight movement she would miss them completely.

Careful not to scare the mysterious figure away she discretely kept them within her sight while finishing taping the Velcro and then carefully attaching the mosquito net to it. When she was done with the net she knew that whoever the stalker was, they couldn't see what exactly she was doing behind the pretty thick net. She pretended to double check the mosquito net while straining her eyes to make many details of the hidden figure out. She was able to tell that they were tall, athletically built and wore green camouflage military-like clothes.

She closed the window and made a bit of a show of cleaning the windowsill and re-arranging the pot plants while taking peeks at the hidden figure. It certainly wasn't Slenderman. Firstly he wore business suit not camouflage, secondly he was a beanpole not an athlete and thirdly she just knew that if Slenderman wanted to stalk her, he wouldn't sit in shrubbery but rather just stand somewhere in the background waiting for her to notice him.

All that left her with sinking suspicion that if she could take a close look, the face of that mysterious watcher would be reptilian.

For next couple of days Michelle became more aware of her surroundings minding various spots on her yard and old orchard that could hide someone and managed to catch some lurking Rachman couple of times. They didn't seem to do anything aside from watching her. She wouldn't even mind it so much if not for the fact that it was downright creepy. She could understand Slenderman doing it since it was… well… it was what he did. That she could understand. But Rachmani? That was bizarre. Or maybe it wasn't and she simply didn't know it? Michelle regretted asking Slenderman if she could ban them from entering her land altogether.

Finally she decided to do some digging, researching various myths and legends, checking out strange folk tales. She was amazed by the sheer amount of her results and just how little value they really held. She could find everything about Slenderman but she couldn't find a single thing about Rachmani, or at least they were not called by that name. There wasn't anything about the Law of Obedience either, but she was determined.

oOo

Rachmani weren't the only ones who were observing. Slenderman was observing them as they watched Michelle; the only difference was that he was much better in lurking around, stalking and avoiding detection. Generally the only time a human could spot him was when Slenderman himself allowed it, usually by simply standing somewhere. Even Rachmani had difficulties with spotting him if he was actively hiding from them. The only way they could get him was if they used circumstances to ambush him.

He chose not to make himself known by his former hostess, but he observed unfolding of events. He already noticed that she knew that someone observed her. Rachmani probably haven't noticed that, but he was a professional in the field of lurking, stalking and prowling, and he knew what to pay attention to. And all of it was there: discreet looks, scanning the perimeter under guise of checking the weather and using reflective surfaces to see what's behind. Michelle even pretended to yawn only to see if the observer was paying attention. Enough to say that the Rachman in the bushes spent another fifteen minutes yawning (and that in turn made Slenderman do the same).

All in all Slenderman was pleased that the woman wasn't oblivious to the fact of being stalked, he also knew that Rachmani would stay true to the Law of Obedience but he also knew that they would test their boundaries to see just how much she would allow them. It wasn't simply a matter of proving who was on top of the situation; it was a matter of establishing their position on her land and with her as the law giver.

TBC

Okay peeps, I know that it may seem ridiculous but seriously, mosquito nets may proof to be your dear friends (especially the kind that you put on the windows). They hold all the bugs outside, not just mosquitos, but they're one of the best ways to stay safe especially in warmer climates where the nasty little bloodsuckers can transmit dangerous diseases. Also, be aware of ticks – they can carry germs just as nasty as mosquitos – don't be fooled, they do not reside on trees and "jump" down on you. They reside in low bushes and grass (especially tall grass) and crawl on you when walk around. And mind you that you can find them in a park in the middle of a city or town, not just forest. In fact more infected tics live in urban areas than in forests (they live where their prey is, and their prey is us). So after a walk carefully check out your skin, especially in warm and sensitive areas, and if you have a pet – check out your pet for tics as well.

Anyway, stay safe people, sharks and tigers can be intimidating, but they're relatively easy to avoid most of the time, mosquitos and tics however are small and unassuming but hard to avoid and can be just as dangerous.

Also, if you have a tick (or your family member, friend of pet has a tick), you need to remove the little sucker immediately, post haste, ASAP, stat! You don't need any special kits to do it. In fact, avoid such "tick removal kits" they're doing more harm than they do good. If you have a tick that require removing (and all ticks require that) take a simple pincers and grab the tick as close to the skin as you can manage and just pull it out. Do not twist it; do not do anything similar, just pull it out in one swift motion. But most importantly, do not rub anything into the tick and the skin around it, no greasy solutions, no alcohol and do not spray it with any "tick removal" sprays – it will make the tick puke (either just puke or make it puke as it dies) and you do not want the tick to puke back the blood it guzzled from you.


	9. Summertime Blues

**2586**

" _Old people told us that here, nearby, there's another, different world." She said finally. "Same as ours. When we look into water, we see our reflection, but the rest is just blurry image of that other world." (…) "Sometimes when we stand in the evening on a waterside, we hear distant bells ringing in the churches of that other world." –_ Andrzej Pilipiuk _"Wieczorne Dzwony"_ _1_ _)_

 **Warning:** Violence and its consequences.

Rating: T to M.

Pairings: none.

Disclaimer: Slenderman © Eric Knudsen (as Victor Surge), 2586 Kroków/Wieczorne Dzwony (and everything it contains) © Andrzej Pilipiuk.

Story and all OCs © Archer Black.

 **Summertime Blues.**

oOo

 _Bieszczady. July 7_ _th_ _._

Slenderman never was the one to hesitate when he chose to do something. The key word here was 'choosing' however. It took him a while to make up his mind about acting. He had mixed feelings about this whole situation he found himself in, or rather was thrown into as he would never put himself in such a position willingly.

On one hand he wasn't the one to ever honour any kind of obligations toward anyone, even those of his own kind... Especially toward those of his own kind. On the other hand the woman helped him when he was in peril, he was going to be eradicated from existence and she stopped that from happening just like that. He was in his lowest that night and she picked him up. Of course he never asked for her help, but that didn't change anything and if it did, it only worked in her favour.

He spent entire spring observing the Rachmani observing her. And he was glad to see that she noticed them too. And for the time being he was happy to remain hidden. Then, one time in the first days of June when he was hunting some noisy and spoiled brats brought on a field trip by their moronic and ignorant parents (whom he decided that he hated on personal level for polluting the space they inhabited with plastic cups, plates and bottles) he realised that he never really thanked his benefactor for her aid. True, he offered her information that helped her with the Rachmani, but it was in his own best interest too.

He was done with the pair of brats when he realised that just dropping in and saying 'thanks' wouldn't be right. Perhaps he could answer any questions that she might have left regarding Rachmani and dealing with them? He pondered about it for a moment and decided that he was missing something. Realisation hit him as he was passing the parents' camp, two tents and blue SUV – he couldn't just come empty handed, and if he recalled correctly Michelle seemed to like dark blue colour!

oOo

 _Holly Cross Mountains. July 10_ _th_ _._

Dusting off his knowledge about paying someone a visit he finally gathered his courage to come to Michelle's house. He materialised in the middle of the yard with bouquet of flowers in his left hand and marched to the door. He knocked couple of times. He could get inside on his own, teleporting to the other side of the door but he felt that it would be somehow rude this time, after all he wasn't stalking her but visiting. He knocked again after not receiving any answer. Was she hiding like the time the Rachmani came for the first time? Slenderman walked to the window and grew enough to take a peek inside.

The living room and kitchen were empty. It was clear that Michelle was not present at the time but it was hard to tell when she would return. He sighed, that was what happened when one failed to notify the visited about one's plans. To his defence, Slenderman didn't have means to contact Michelle directly. He never really needed, after all he usually stalked, hunted and pursued and the whole idea was not to forewarn but take his victims by surprise.

He stared at the door for a moment and shrunk back to his previous size. There was no point in waiting so he took the flowers he brought and hooked them on the door handle. She would find them when she would return.

When he walked to the barn he saw a single Rachman hiding in the shadows of elderberry. The creature stared at him but didn't move. The Law of Obedience and Michelle's own rule preventing him from acting but not forbidding his presence. Slenderman stared back for a moment, then marched away and vanished.

The Rachman glared for a moment and then sat down in the shadow of the elder tree. His job was to only observe after all.

oOo

 _Two days later._

Michelle left the barn and sighed. She spent last week with her parents in the city and she enjoyed every moment of it but it was good to be home. City was a fun place to visit but not a good place to live in, it was too loud and obnoxious and she preferred peace and quiet. She understood that most people had no choice and she felt for them, especially that there was a time when she had to live in the city.

She still had to move her luggage, and there was a bit of it, especially that she did some serious shopping; but first she wanted to have a nice cup of tea. After all she was in no hurry; she had the rest of the day to manage her stuff.

She knew that there was probably a Rachman hidden somewhere, quietly observing her but she didn't care at the moment. She marched straight to the door not even bothering to look around. She pulled out the keys and stopped. There was bouquet of wilted flowers hanging on the door handle. Its state told her that it hung there for a while now. She picked it to give it a closer look and quickly determined that it had to be a whole bunch of cornflowers. It must've been lovely when it was still fresh.

Michelle stared for the wilted flowers for a moment, wondering who might've left them there. She wasn't a fan of cut flowers, she preferred them alive and growing, but still it was nice gesture, what a shame that she didn't know who to thank to.

She shrugged, perhaps she would learn in time; in the meantime she unlocked the door and went it. That tea wouldn't brew itself and her bags wouldn't come home on their own legs.

TBC


	10. Ambush in the Bush

**2586**

" _Old people told us that here, nearby, there's another, different world." She said finally. "Same as ours. When we look into water, we see our reflection, but the rest is just blurry image of that other world." (…) "Sometimes when we stand in the evening on a waterside, we hear distant bells ringing in the churches of that other world." –_ Andrzej Pilipiuk _"Wieczorne Dzwony"_ _1_ _)_

 **Warning:** Violence and its consequences.

Rating: T to M.

Pairings: none.

Disclaimer: Slenderman © Eric Knudsen (as Victor Surge), 2586 Kroków/Wieczorne Dzwony (and everything it contains) © Andrzej Pilipiuk.

Story and all OCs © Archer Black.

 **Ambush in the bush.**

oOo

 _Holly Cross Mountains. July 15_ _th_ _._

The summer was in full. It was hot but the wind was cool making the weather bearable and even quite pleasant. The day seemed to be the example of a perfect summer in a country. The sky was bright with some clouds, the wind gently caressed the trees in the forests, the grasses on the meadows and crops on the fields, the air smelled of summer heat and dry hay, and mooing of cows could be heard every now and then. The fact that these days there were but a handful of them didn't matter.

Michelle took the opportunity to go on an afternoon walk and perhaps pick some wild blackberries that grew near the forest. She chose the forest that grew at a distance behind her barn, the one she came to associate with Slenderman; over the ones growing on the other sides of the orchards despite the fact that there were more blackberry shrubs there because some local farmers were doing the field work there and she didn't want to get in the way of the tractors that would certainly cruise back and forth carrying the dried hay and whatever else there was to collect.

She walked along the border strip between two meadows, the earth was dry as it didn't rain lately and she could hear the crickets hidden in the grass. The afternoon was still early enough for the sun to be scorching but she was prepared – big, flappy hat protected her from the heat pouring from the sky. For now it was hot and dry but such weather always ended with storms. Now today and not tomorrow but it was a matter of time.

oOo

Slenderman spotted Michelle by pure accident. He was out on business involving getting himself a new shirt when he spotted her walking toward the forest. She carried a basket and wore large hat, long sleeves and trousers that would protect her from the sun and also from the ticks. There were big sunglasses on her nose that hidden her eyes so it was hard to say what exactly she was looking at.

She was way outside of her influence zone but safe. At least safe from being bothered by Rachmani, or rather attacked by them, they still could approach her in peaceful manner. That was most unfortunate for Slenderman since unlike Michelle, he was not protected from Rachmani and while now he was stronger than he was in the winter, he had no desire to confront his enemies if they held any advantage over him, especially in numbers.

He still felt that he needed to properly thank her but if she was observed he couldn't approach her without revealing himself to the Rachmani. This meant that he had to conceal himself. If he couldn't talk to her now he could always try to visit her later.

He silently stepped deeper into the forest sent his tentacles up. It was a mostly pine forest and it meant that the tree trunks were straight and tall with branched high above the ground and not very thick. His tentacles wrapped themselves around multiple branches and he lifted himself up where he perched on solid looking branch and observed.

oOo

Michelle walked along the verge of the forest, there were some blackberry shrubs growing here and there, picking the fruits. It wouldn't take long for her to fill since it wasn't that large and she knew that in few days she would certainly get back for more, either here or perhaps near the other forest, provided she wouldn't get in the way of the field work. For now however what she would pick would suffice.

She approached another shrub at the very edge of the forest and started to pick the ripe berries when she heard strange noise. It was buzzing and for a moment she thought that perhaps there as hornet nest somewhere near but then the buzzing formed into a single word.

" _Michelle."_

She instantly recognised who that was and looked around but didn't saw him. In fact she didn't saw anyone. She blinked thinking that perhaps she just imagined it but the buzzing came again.

" _In the forest."_

There was a certain push in that sentence, urging her to enter the forest. It was putting a desire to walk between the trees into her. She had no doubt now that it was Slenderman trying to persuade her to do as he asked. It was surprisingly easy to resist his coaxing though, perhaps because she knew what was going on. Someone who didn't expect it would fall for it though.

" _Please, come."_

Michelle looked into the forest. This time the buzzing wasn't seductively insisting, he was really asking her to come. She sighed and stepped in between tall tree trunks, what could he possibly want form her? She was certainly too old to be his next meal. Not that she complained.

It was much more pleasant in the shadows where the trees obscured the sun and the ground wasn't radiating the heat, nonetheless the air stood still without even the slightest of breezes providing any relief. Perhaps it was for the better as the wind would probably simply move the hot air around.

Michelle looked around but she couldn't spot any sign of the faceless creature's presence.

" _Above."_

She almost jumped and looked up. And there he was, high in the branches, looking down at her. For a second he just sat there, staring at her, and then he jumped off but didn't fall down, instead he gently slipped to the ground. It was the first time Michelle really saw his tentacles. They were thick and dark, and he didn't use all of them either, she only saw two.

"I never thought I would see you again." She admitted not knowing what else to say. "You seem to do well. It certainly looks like you didn't have any violent encounters with Rachmani."

" _Have you found the flowers?"_ He asked in return.

"Flowers? You left them there?" Michelle's eyed grew round. "I was away, when I returned there weren't much of them left." She smiled. "I would never suspect you to be the kind to bring flowers though."

" _Flowers are appropriate when paying a visit."_ He explained.

"A shame that you missed me." She smiled. "Next time perhaps forewarn me so I will be there?"

" _I am Slenderman and I do not forewarn."_ He stated simply. _"And I do not have means to do so."_ He added.

Michelle blinked. That much was true, he was a notorious stalker and he probably couldn't use a phone even if he wanted to. Nor send her a telegram or anything like that because if he showed up in a post office… bricks would be shat.

"Well, now it seems that I have paid you a visit." She said. "I don't suppose you're in a habit of explaining your actions, but maybe you can tell me what did you need?"

" _I do not need anything at this time."_ He replied. _"My intention was to talk. You may require more information regarding Rachmani."_

"I won't deny that some more info would be nice. They seem to observe me for some time now, probably ever since you've left though I only noticed in the spring." Michelle shrugged. "I tried to find something on my own but I found nothing so far."

" _Walk with me."_ The pale entity gestured for her to follow him deeper into the forest.

"Okay, just don't eat me or something." She followed him.

" _You're good twenty years too old to be eaten by me."_ He stated, his voice sounding like two or three bees now.

"I know that. It was a joke." Michelle sighed; she knew that if Slenderman wanted to harm her in any way he could do so many times over by now. "So, how about these Rachmani?"

" _They do not dwell in this realm but merely visit it so they can walk where they so please, except for entering homes as such. Should they do it would count as common trespassing."_ He walked beside her.

"But why are they spying on me? I mean I would expect them to be attempting to hunt you down. I laid my rules clearly so even if you would come they cannot attack. So why are they watching me?" She asked.

" _They're testing you as a rule giver."_ He replied earnestly _. "They want to know if you're strong or weak."_ He elaborated.

"What does that mean?"

" _A weak rule giver will be easy to manipulate or even intimidate. A strong one is not to be messed with."_ He explained further. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks and looked around. _"We're being followed."_ He said.

"By whom?" Michelle looked around but didn't saw anyone.

" _And who could want to follow us?"_ Slenderman asked and grabbed Michelle's arm.

Before she knew they were someplace else. She never noticed how the scenery changed around her and realised that it had to be Slenderman's teleportation. The sensation was… there was no sensation to this aside from mild disorientation as to where she was.

"Where are we?" She asked in whisper, not sure if it was safe to talk at all. They were now in a different part of the forest or even perhaps in different forest altogether.

" _Not far away."_ He assured her _. "Just far enough. They will be looking. This way."_ He led her to what seemed to be a large, heavy boulder.

He did it again, Michelle wished that he could at least give her a warning that he was about to teleport.

This time they were in some dark room, she couldn't see a thing before Slenderman pulled a lighter from somewhere and lit up an oil lamp. Now she could clearly see concrete walls with rust stains.

"Where are we?" She asked whispering.

" _An old bunker. Just below the forest. It is not much but it is a good hiding place."_ He answered her in his own version of whisper. _"They don't know it exists. Come this way."_

He led her from where they appeared trough a short corridor to a larger room. She could faintly see two more doors leading from that room. The room itself was sparsely furnished but clean. It didn't even smell like an old bunker either. There was a small table with one chair, a cabinet, an old looking closet and a bed.

Michelle put her basket with blackberries on the table.

"You live here?" She asked.

" _I hide here."_ He replied quietly. _"Sometimes I rest here."_

"Okay." She let the subject go. She was sure that he probably had more places as this one, probably all around the world. And probably not looking any better than this.

She was about to speak again when they both heard a loud noise, as if someone kicked something. Then some shouting, the voice was definitely not human. It had to come from above the ground but somehow it managed to reach them anyway. She couldn't recognise the words; Rachmani had to speak in their own language. After a moment everything went quiet again.

" _They will be searching the area."_ Slenderman whispered in that 'single dying wasp' whisper of his. _"Do not worry, they will not find us, the only remaining entry is well hidden."_

"How long will they be searching?" She asked in barely audible whisper.

" _Until they get tired or think that we had to just teleport further away."_ He replied. _"You don't have to be that quiet, just don't speak too loudly."_

"Okay." She said in a little louder but still whispering. "How did they know where to look for you?"

" _They probably followed you."_ Slenderman shrugged.

"Sorry." She winced, feeling a pang of guilt. She didn't want him to get into any trouble because of her.

" _It was me who called you."_ He didn't seem to be bothered.

"But why did you teleport us so close to this place? Wouldn't it be safer to lead them away from your lair?" She questioned silently.

" _I would if I was alone but with a 'passenger' it is more difficult. On top of that you could get caught in a brawl between me and Rachmani."_ He explained.

"I see." She nodded. "But you could just leave me and escape alone. You once told me that I was safe as a rule giver."

" _They would not put a physical harm upon you, not deliberately."_ Slenderman nodded slowly. _"But what if you're not a strong rule giver?"_

"Oh, speaking of which, before you said that they were testing me." She recalled their interrupted conversation. "Why would they do that?"

The faceless man cocked his head to the side and stayed silent for a moment, as if contemplating the answer. When he finally spoke his voice buzzed silently but with assurance.

" _Because you can always change the rules you have put in place. If you're weak then they can make you lift your violence ban. But if you're strong you will not be swayed and even may change it to their disadvantage."_ He expounded. _"That is what I think they're doing but I cannot be sure if they don't have any other motives too."_

"In this case I can tell you that while I don't know if I am strong but I certainly am not weak." She reassured her host. "I will not lift my ban; you do not have to worry about it. I do wonder though how long will they search."

" _Up to couple hours."_ He stated simply. _"But I can let you out, like I said they will only attack me, not you. If you will simply walk away, you won't get caught between them and me."_

"Oh come on, I will not endanger you or do anything to reveal your hiding place." Michelle shook her head. "I have time; I can wait until they're gone."

Slenderman didn't oppose, he didn't want to reveal his hiding place either.

TBC


	11. Midnight Summer Dream

**2586**

" _Old people told us that here, nearby, there's another, different world." She said finally. "Same as ours. When we look into water, we see our reflection, but the rest is just blurry image of that other world." (…) "Sometimes when we stand in the evening on a waterside, we hear distant bells ringing in the churches of that other world." –_ Andrzej Pilipiuk _"Wieczorne Dzwony"_ _1_ _)_

 **Warning:** Violence and its consequences.

Rating: T to M.

Pairings: none.

Disclaimer: Slenderman © Eric Knudsen (as Victor Surge), 2586 Kroków/Wieczorne Dzwony (and everything it contains) © Andrzej Pilipiuk.

Story and all OCs © Archer Black.

 **Midnight summer dream.**

oOo

 _Holly Cross Mountains. Late at night._

The waiting game lasted until late night with Rachmani hovering over the area for the rest of the afternoon, the evening and well into the night. And then Slenderman insisted on waiting a bit more just to be sure. Michelle didn't argue. Last thing she needed was a fight between Slenderman and Rachmani. Especially that despite knowing that Slenderman did devour children she would still side with him against Rachmani even if technically they were, not exactly good guys but probably better (even if not nicer) that Slenderman.

After giving deeper thought to her dislike of Rachmani she decided that there were at least two reasons. Firstly because of the state she found the faceless being that evening. Secondly because of how Rachmani threw their accusations around without any evidence to support it and went straight to lynching without any proper trial. The whole stalking didn't help either and there were probably more reasons too.

They spent the time talking a bit then Slenderman provided some water so that Michelle could wash the blackberries and they ate them for supper. None was big fan of raw, unprocessed blackberries but Michelle was hungry, and Slenderman ate as a matter of principle which Michelle didn't question. Those who knew true hunger would never pass opportunity to stuff themselves with food, even if technically in Slenderman's case blackberries held no true value.

At some point Michelle zoned out while sitting on the only chair while Slenderman sat on his cot. He offered her to choose where she would sit and she picked the chair soddenly feeling quite self-conscious about monopolising someone's bed. She was woken by someone gently shaking her arm and upon opening her eyes she saw Slenderman. It took her few seconds to arrange her brain back to working order and forcing her eyes to look straight.

" _They're gone."_ He buzzed.

"Wha... are you sure?" She blinked couple of times feeling as if her eyes weren't aligned properly.

" _Yes."_

"And they're not just laying low waiting to ambush you the moment you show yourself?" Michelle decided to go slightly paranoid if only for Slenderman's sake.

" _They are not laying low in an ambush."_ The pale entity replied. _"I will take you home now."_ He announced.

"You can bet anything that they are observing my house right now." She pointed out. "I know that they won't touch you when you'll be on my yard, but what if they will try to capture you once you'll leave?"

" _I am capable of avoiding capture. I managed to do it ever since winter."_ He reminded. _"I can shake them off without much trouble now that I am aware of their hunt for my head."_

"I guess you do." She sighed. He was right, he avoided them ever since he left in January but would he be able to do so always. "If all else fails, you can always teleport to my yard where they cannot touch you."

Slenderman didn't answer, instead he just grabbed Michelle's shoulder and teleported out, next to the same boulder they've been at when he teleported them in. Michelle figured that it was perhaps some land mark for Slenderman. She didn't have a chance to really look around but the forest looked different in the middle of the night. Next thing she knew they were on the verge of the forest. In the distance she could see the village, the lights were off in the houses that were habituated and the only light came from the street lamps that illuminated the road, but from where she stood it was merely a faint glow. A moment later they were just behind her barn/garage. From that spot they just walked.

"You know, I am old enough to walk home on my own." She said looking at the tall creature next to her as she opened the gate to get into her yard. "And I was perfectly capable of doing so from the spot where I could see the village."

"I am aware of your age." He replied following her. "But what kind of a man would I be if I left you to just walk?"

"You'd be a man that missed an opportunity for something to drink." She smirked and pulled her keys out. "Don't get the wrong idea, nothing stiff, I'm not trying to get you drunk or anything like that. It's just some cocoa or maybe tea?"

Slenderman didn't reply, he just stared for a second and then vanished. Michelle blinked and shrugged.

"Figures that means a 'no'. Wonder if he just didn't want to drink or if he actually preferred something alcoholic." She mused and walked in, closing the door behind her.

TBC


	12. No Place Like Home

**2586**

" _Old people told us that here, nearby, there's another, different world." She said finally. "Same as ours. When we look into water, we see our reflection, but the rest is just blurry image of that other world." (…) "Sometimes when we stand in the evening on a waterside, we hear distant bells ringing in the churches of that other world." –_ Andrzej Pilipiuk _"Wieczorne Dzwony"_ _1_ _)_

 **Warning:** Violence and its consequences.

Rating: T to M.

Pairings: none.

Disclaimer: Slenderman © Eric Knudsen (as Victor Surge), 2586 Kroków/Wieczorne Dzwony (and everything it contains) © Andrzej Pilipiuk.

Story and all OCs © Archer Black.

 **No place like home.**

oOo

 _Holly Cross Mountains. July 24_ _th_ _._

The hot and dry weather didn't last long after Michelle's unplanned visit in Slenderman's lair; the breakdown came a week and a day in form of an epic storm, the next day after her parents' arrival. It started in the afternoon and lasted well into the evening, the night was rainy and the next day temperature started to decline.

Michelle's parents were glad that they managed to reach their daughter's house before the weather changed, driving in storm would be dangerous especially is forested areas where randomly braking tree branches could fall on the car. Michelle nodded knowing full well just how dangerous such situations could be while at the same time she pondered if Slenderman's secret lair was waterproof enough to withstand such pouring rains.

Her father was in the middle of ranting about how such weather could cause instant floods in the cities that usually caused the water to get too high for cars to drive safely through when Michelle spotted a familiar figure outside the window. A Rachman in a bright, yellow raincoat stood near the elderberry, almost in the plain sight and if one of both of her parents would look there they would see him without a problem. What kind of an idiot wore such a flashing gear to a surveillance mission?

"Is everything okay?" Her mother asked seeing Michelle's perplexed face.

"No, I mean yes, I mean… I was thinking about what dad said about these instant floods." Michelle lied smoothly. "How ironic that cities and towns with that entire infrastructure are so vulnerable, no?"

"No escaping these things." Her father shrugged. "In cities you have instant floods after heavy rain, in the country you can always have some floods in the spring when the snow melts."

"So true." Michelle nodded, silently praying that the idiot Rachman would hide himself before he was spotted.

oOo

Two day passed without any unfortunate incidents involving Rachmani and Michelle noticed that the bright yellow raincoat disappeared. Either its owner was released from his duty or he was provided with different coat.

The weather changed from heavy rain to light drizzle, and her Michelle found herself dragged by her mother to the forest for some mushroom hunt. The older woman claimed that while it wasn't mushroom season yet, it was warm and wet enough to go. Michelle was reluctant fearing that Rachmani would get in their way, or that her father would encounter one while she was away; but the woman had no good excuse to not go.

Michelle didn't saw even a shadow of a Rachman during her trip, and her father didn't spotted any – she would know if he did because he would say about some strange people lurking around if he saw one.

In the late evening that day Michelle could swear that she heard someone under her bedroom's window but she didn't spot anyone and wondered if it was some Rachman passing by or Slenderman decided to check how the situation looked like. As she turned off the light she took another peek outside of the window but saw nothing. The situation was proving to get creepier every day and she decided that she would need to think of some clever way to ban Rachmani from spying on her.

oOo

Three days later Michelle parents left, their leave ended and they had to return to their jobs. Luckily weather improved and the driving conditions were a lot better than during their stay. When their car disappeared from her sight Michelle sighed in relief. It wasn't that she was glad that they were gone but that the whole time she was worried that some Rachman would bump into one or both of them and she would the one left to explain everything.

oOo

After the day they have met Slenderman continued to discreetly observe Michelle's house, paying especially close attention to Rachmani. It was hard not to notice that ever since last time he met Michelle they were becoming boulder and boulder. It was… intriguing. And sometimes downright hilarious, like that time when a lone Rachman was attempting to remain unnoticed while wearing eye-screwing yellow rain coat. Slenderman as a professional stalker wanted to just bang his head against nearest wall – how that Rachman figured that wearing something as hideous as that was a good idea while trying to remain hidden was so beyond the faceless entity that he was tempted to just approach the Rachman and tell him to stop being an idiot. Naturally he did no such thing, why would he ever do anything to help his enemies?

It was merely a matter of time before Michelle would notice just how nosy the Rachmani became, unless she already did and only played it cool due to her having guests. Either way, Slenderman knew that confrontation was inevitable.

TBC


	13. Showdown

**2586**

" _Old people told us that here, nearby, there's another, different world." She said finally. "Same as ours. When we look into water, we see our reflection, but the rest is just blurry image of that other world." (…) "Sometimes when we stand in the evening on a waterside, we hear distant bells ringing in the churches of that other world." –_ Andrzej Pilipiuk _"Wieczorne Dzwony"_ _1_ _)_

 **Warning:** Violence and its consequences.

Rating: T to M.

Pairings: none.

Disclaimer: Slenderman © Eric Knudsen (as Victor Surge), 2586 Kroków/Wieczorne Dzwony (and everything it contains) © Andrzej Pilipiuk.

Story and all OCs © Archer Black.

 **Showdown.**

oOo

 _Holly Cross Mountains. July 29_ _th_ _._

Michelle stood on the road, watching as her parents' car vanished behind a bend, she sighed hoping that their journey would be pleasantly uneventful. With them out of her sight she turned around to get return to her yard when she almost jumped out of her skin.

Right behind her Slenderman stood. The entity appeared in absolute silence and seemed to just stand there, waiting for her to notice him. That or he deliberately tried to scare her. If it was the latter, he certainly succeeded.

"Geez! Could you be any creepier? No, wait, don't answer." She sighed. She could feel her heart racing in her chest from the start that he gave her. "Something's wrong? Something's happened?" She asked while closing the car gate.

Slenderman waited for her to look at him, nodded once and pointed at the house. Michelle raised one eyebrow but said nothing, figuring that he didn't want to speak because of possibility that a Rachman was in an earshot. As she thought about it she realised that it wasn't a possibility but certainty. There certainly was a Rachman within an earshot.

"Alright, come." She led the way with Slenderman following her soundlessly.

She could see that he was looking around trying to spot any Rachmani that was sure to hide somewhere. Needless to say that at least Michelle couldn't spot any at the moment but Slenderman had more experience with finding them so he probably had better idea where any of them could be hiding at the moment.

"Do you like some tea?" She asked when they entered the living room area.

Slenderman shook his head 'no' while he sat on the couch.

"Okay, so what is it that brought you here?" She asked sitting in a chair across from him. "I'm assuming you weren't simply missing company?"

Slenderman cocked his head to one side while staring at the woman.

" _I can handle solitude just fine."_ He finally buzzed. _"As much as I value you as an ally I didn't come for your company, I came to warn you about Rachmani."_

"I've seen them when my parents were here, you know, they were reckless. One actually tried to hide while wearing hideous yellow raincoat." She nodded.

" _I have seen that one."_ Slenderman confirmed. _"But it is not that incident that I came to talk about."_ He shook his head. _"Their testing your resolve is becoming… questionable."_

"What do you mean?" She asked. "I've been worried that my folk would bump in one of them but it seems that they've did their best to stay hidden. Except that one idiot in raincoat that is."

" _That pratfall was merely an incident, indiscretion on Rachmani's end."_ The faceless entity elucidated. _"In other instances they were perfectly discreet."_

"What other instances?" Michelle felt her stomach contract. "What did they do?"

" _They continue to do what they did before. Alas they become bolder. I have seen them looking through your bedroom's window at night."_ He revealed.

"WHAT?" She bellowed. Now that was just priceless. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

" _I didn't want to risk bumping into your guests. Or being seen by Rachmani. They would instantly know that I have been watching them observing you."_

"Good thing that you at least tell me now." She sighed. "I've been meaning to deal with them anyway."

" _You cannot ban them entirely."_ The silent creature noted.

"Who says anything about banning them entirely?" She smirked in a way that she knew was unsettling to people, though probably not to Slenderman. "What I came up with solved this… What was that?" Michelle's head snapped into direction of the door.

There was something at the entry door. Or at least Michelle thought that she heard something. She couldn't tell exactly what it was because she was talking when it happened and the sound was pretty quiet but with being observed for past couple of months, and knowing it, her patience was running thin. Therefore she took one deep breath and sneaked into the hall as quietly as she could and opened the door sharply.

A young looking Rachman landed on his face at her feet. Thee others stood behind him, one of them looked exactly the same as the one that she slammed her door at the first time she saw Rachmani.

"That does it!' She bellowed. "You've been stalking me since the spring or even longer. You've been following me and I won't even mention that idiot in yellow raincoat when my parents visited. And just now I've been informed that one or more of you, perverts, were sneaking peeks through my window at night!" She was ballistic now. "I know what you're trying to do, but this has gone too far. I demand answers! NOW! On whose orders are you, little creeps, practicing this voyeurism?"

The Rachmani glared at her wordlessly, it seemed that they didn't expect her to discover them at her door, let alone her having such a strong reaction to their presence. The young Rachman that landed at her feet scrambled to his feet and stepped away from the angry woman while one of the Rachmani at the back, the one that she did recognise stepped closer. It was hard to tell due to different physiognomy but he looked irritated or even angry.

"I do not answer to Slenderman's whore!" He growled back at Michelle.

That took by surprise even his companions who started to blink rapidly and look at each other, obviously not knowing how to behave in this situation. On one hand they should support their leader; on the other hand he was insulting the woman whose land they stood on. Whatever they would do, it would backfire one way or another.

Michelle on part was momentarily stunned, many thing she expected but not being called that. Slenderman used her temporary silence to make his appearance behind the woman as menacing as possible. His tentacles slowly unfolded from behind his back followed shortly by multitude of smaller feelers whipping around madly. He hunched slightly and spread his arms a little bit looking as if he was about to attack.

Rachmani looked at Michelle and then behind her at Slenderman, the last confrontation with the faceless entity ended in their victory but this time it looked like the fight wouldn't be nearly as one sided as then. This time around he wouldn't be taken by surprise and it was summer which meant that Slenderman was at his strongest; on top of that he didn't look happy with how the situation was unfolding. Still they weren't about to back down, not from confrontation with that particular creature.

Slenderman on his part wasn't thrilled by the perspective of fighting the Rachmani, he remembered all too well the last fight that ended with him finding himself under Michelle's tender mercies which was something he would prefer not to repeat (not that he didn't appreciate her efforts). Still he wouldn't back down even if it would land him in Michelle's care yet again. Pigs would fly before he would show weakness in front of these creatures, a cactus would grow on his right hand1) before he would be seen exhibiting any kind of submission to them and he would land in hell before he would allow these thugs to offend Michelle without consequences. Not because he owed her, but because he genuinely liked her and appreciated her unwavering reliability – she could have choose to be on Rachmani good side and not side with him, yet she remained firm.

The time seemed to slow down for a moment, just when everyone readied themselves for the brawl a strong voice caught their attention.

"That's quite enough." An elderly Rachman stepped between his younger kin.

Michelle instantly recognised the Elder, Ciril was his name.

"My apologies for this situation." He said looking at Michelle. "It is your land and your authority is unquestionable here." He said and gave disapproving look to the younger Rachman that snapped at Michelle. "

"I remain sceptical about your sincerity, Elder." She said in unimpressed tone. "I highly doubt that you didn't know about their actions. In fact I have a feeling that it was you who authorised this entire farce."

"Mind your tongue you little witch, you need to be showed your place…" The Rachman growled again.

"Silence Constantine, it seems that it is you who needs to be showed your place." Ciril barked at the young Rachman and then turned his reptilian stare back to Michelle. "I do not deny that I did order my juniors to observe your qualities. Although I clearly remember telling them to be discreet about it."

"You have seen the yellow raincoat?" Michelle lifted one eyebrow.

"Sadly I did." The Elder sighed.

"And did you know that they were watching me at night? Through my bedroom's window?" She asked again.

"That is something I have just found out." The Elder admitted. "But I am not surprised. Constantine here has a certain… obsession with you that he has developed after our first encounter."

"Elder, why do you even explain yourself to Slenderman's bitch… "The Rachman known as Constantine started again. His companions remained wisely silent.

"Constantine, enough of your mouthing off. You will either behave with at least modicum of decorum or you will remain silent." The Elder shot the young Rachman a warning glare before turning to Michelle again. "You see young lady, Constantine, despite being quite freshly wedded to his wife who is now expecting their first egg… "The Elder glared at the Rachman again. "He got himself infatuated with you. 'Forbidden fruit' as they say."

"So I can safely assume it was him who was peeking through my window?" Michelle asked and glanced at Constantine who's been seething in the background.

"I believe it is." Ciril nodded. "Now, back to the main topic. Please do not take our surveillance of you as something personal, it is merely our way to test you and validate your resolve. I can promise you that from now on it will be continued in much lesser degree. Constantine certainly will not be involved; tasking him and his peers with this duty was a mistake. From now on it will be performed with more experienced and less brash Rachmani."

"Constantine will certainly not be spying on my as he is banned from my land from now on." Michelle said glaring daggers at the Rachman in question.

"I am sure that you have been informed by… your houseguest, that you cannot simply ban us from your land." The Elder remained.

"On, I am perfectly aware of that. This is why I am not banning Rachmani as a whole from my land. I am banning Constantine. And, after giving it a second thought, his posse as well."

"Of course. This is understandable." Ciril nodded.

"Moreover, there will be no more observations, surveillance, beholding, espionage or whatever you choose to name your creeping around and stalking me." She intoned looking the Elder straight in the eye. "If it was up to me I would simply ban you entirely from my land for this stunt with spying, but I know that I cannot do it due to the fact that you're not dwelling here but merely pass by, but I can do the next best thing."

"And what that would be?" Ciril asked, his face set, his demeanour not nearly as confident as moments before.

"You see, it was brought to my attention that you can walk where you so please because you do not 'dwell' in this this realm but 'pass by', this is what the Law of Obedience is constructed around. And this is what you will be permitted exactly. You are permitted to pass by my land. You are forbidden from loitering, lingering and tarrying. No sticking around, no snooping around and no eyeing up on anyone here." She looked at Ciril to see if he understood.

"I see." It seemed as he did.

"This said, should you require urgent aid, you can come to me. This urgent aid standing for instances such as need of first aid, wounds and accidents." Michelle added. Promising help seemed only right thing to do. "Constantine and his companions are naturally banned from any kind of presence on my land, including passing by. And my previous rule of non-violence stands still." She reminded.

"Then there is nothing left here for us to do." Ciril straightened to his full impressive height.

"No, there is not."

"We bid you farewell then." The Elder bowed slightly and turned on his heel, urging the younger Rachmani away from the house.

Michelle bowed back, turned to Slenderman and jumped seeing his tentacles and feelers lashing behind him. He looked back then back at Michelle and pulled his flailing appendages back in while projecting an aura of utter innocence.

Michelle rolled her eyes and closed the door.

"Smug bastard." She mumbled as he followed her back to her living room.

" _Now would be the proper time for tea."_ He buzzed while sitting on her couch as if it was his own.

"Oh, time to celebrate a small victory?" She rested her hands on her hips.

" _I don't see why not?"_ He asked.

"Fine. I guess it is, especially that you do have a beef with them." She shook her head.

" _I recall that few weeks ago, when I was walking you home, you proposed me a late night drink, making it clear that you didn't mean anything strong?"_ He questioned carefully.

"Yes. And you just vanished without a word." She replied wondering what he was up to.

" _I was thinking, may this be good occasion for something with a bit of a kick?"_ The creature asked. _"What would you say about Gunfire_ _2_ _)?"_

"I would say that at the moment I do not have rum or any other booze if you wanted to substitute." She replied.

" _Such a shame."_ He sighed and leaned back. _"In that case rum tea sans rum_ _3_ _) will do."_

"You're a rascal." Michelle replied and laughed.

TBC

1) Extremely inconvenient event for any man. Slenderman is no exception.

2) A morning or warming drink that originates from British army, it is made with a cup of black tea and a shot of rum that are mixed together.

3) A reverse of the good old "rum tea sans tea".


	14. Epilogue

**2586**

" _Old people told us that here, nearby, there's another, different world." She said finally. "Same as ours. When we look into water, we see our reflection, but the rest is just blurry image of that other world." (…) "Sometimes when we stand in the evening on a waterside, we hear distant bells ringing in the churches of that other world." –_ Andrzej Pilipiuk _"Wieczorne Dzwony"_ _1_ _)_

 **Warning:** Violence and its consequences.

Rating: T to M.

Pairings: none.

Disclaimer: Slenderman © Eric Knudsen (as Victor Surge), 2586 Kroków/Wieczorne Dzwony (and everything it contains) © Andrzej Pilipiuk.

Story and all OCs © Archer Black.

 **Epilogue.**

oOo

 _Holly Cross Mountains. August 2_ _nd_ _._

After the confrontation things started to return to normal, or what passed for normal for a woman who was on first name terms with children devouring and random people stalking creature known as Slenderman.

The weather improved for the past few days and it was warm, pleasant summer evening. The skies were turning red and violet as the sun was setting slowly. The air smelled of the drying hay, crickets chirped in the grass and the first bats flew around taking over after swallows that retired for the night. Somewhere in the distance a dog barked at something fleetingly disturbing the serenity of the otherwise beautiful evening in the country.

Michelle and Slenderman sat on a bench next to the house enjoying the warm evening, content to spend the time doing nothing constructive though the woman was looking around every now and then, searching for any odd figures hiding in the shadows. An angry 'meow' of a random cat made her sit straight and do a 360 scan of her surroundings in turn making Slenderman 'glare; at her.

"What?" She huffed.

Slenderman only shook his head and sighed in reply.

"I know that they're gone, but it's kind of a habit right now." She leaned back comfortably. "It will take some time for my paranoia to subside, you know."

" _You fear that they will break your ban?"_ He asked silently.

"No. I don't know about the young ones, especially the Constantine guy, but the Elder Ciril strikes me as honourable man… lizard… whatever. He seems to have a good hold on the entire group so no; I don't think they will disobey my rules." She shook her head. "It's just that I got accustomed to them lurking around that I just look around out of habit. That and that Constantine guy. You've heard what Elder said about him having a crush on me. Creepy."

" _Do not worry. It is your land and your rules; they cannot break them unless they plan to not be able to enter this realm in the foreseeable future."_ Slenderman's voice buzzed with absolute certainty. _"And if Constantine will ever approach you outside of your land I promise that they will sooner find Jimmy Hoffa than recover his body."_ He added.

"Thanks, I already feel safer." Michelle replied with a smirk.

" _I am being serious."_ He said. _"You have prevented them from ending me and sheltered me until I was able to fend for myself. By doing that you brought Rachmani attention to yourself. You continue to support me despite my nature."_

"No good deed goes unpunished, they say." This time she laughed a bit. "But since my yard and orchard are both off limits, their only chance at stalking me would be when I'm outside of my land but that's a fat chance. I don't really go into the forest that often and on meadows and fields they wouldn't be able to find any reliable hiding places to watch me from. They could try when I'm driving but they would never be able to catch up with a car."

" _Regardless, providing you with knowledge and occasional assistance is the least I can do for the one that helped me."_ He insisted. _"Keeping you safe is in my best interest, you are an invaluable ally."_

"At least you're being honest. I have a strange feeling that you're trying to cosy your way into staying in my place for the X-mass?"

" _I do not spend December in this part of the world."_ He replied matter-of-factly. _"I was absent in February and returned with spring. I travel vast distances to hunt and I am not present at all times."_

"I get it. And don't get me wrong, you're always welcome. But in few years my parents will retire and move in."

" _Then do not invite me if you do not know how they will react."_ He advised.

"I invite whomever I like." She shrugged. "And they tend to accept my friends… although with you I think it'd be best to make the invitation gentle to lessen the shock." She laughed.

Slenderman did not reply to that. Somewhere in the distance a dog barked again.

The End.


End file.
